


Christmas Without You

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-03-03
Updated: 2004-03-03
Packaged: 2019-05-15 01:04:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 89,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14780714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.





	1. Christmas Without You

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Christmas Without You**

**by: AdoreLeo**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

Christmas Without You

Dec 22, 2003

 

White House:

7:00 am

The White House halls are decked and the National Christmas tree was lit. It is officially the Christmas season once again at the White House. All the offices are full of decorations and holiday music plays in the background. This Christmas seems to be even more festive than usual. So much had happened in this past year of this administration and the staff is ready for some holiday cheer.

Leo enters the White House and can’t help but get caught up in the Christmas sprit that is floating through the hallways. He finds himself even whistling along with the carolers that are filling the lobby with Christmas sounds. He heads off to his office with almost a spring in his rolling gait.

Things are definitely looking up this Christmas. This administration’s past Christmas’s had been troubled with Leo’s addictions coming to light, Josh’s PSTD, the MS hearings and the President and Leo trying to exorcise their guilt about Shareef. This past year hasn’t been a cakewalk either; with Zoey’s kidnapping, but after the government shutdown things have really started to look up. The President and Abbey seem to be moving past their problems and even Abbey seems to be warming up to him once again. They really haven’t talked about what had happened, but maybe they will soon. He really misses their friendship.

Leo enters his office and is ready for his good morning banter with Margaret, but she isn’t there yet. `His stomach tightens in concern. She is always at work before him and he is certain that she hasn’t scheduled the day off.`He isn’t sure what was going on with her lately, but she definitely hasn’t been herself. She has been irritable and short tempered with him for a couple of weeks now and it seems like she is trying to avoid him, whenever possible. This isn’t how his Margaret acts; she is always no more than a bellow and a couple of short steps away. Plus, Christmas is only 3 days away and she has yet to start to bother him about signing cards. Maybe she has sent them to autopen this year. He’d have to remember to ask her tomorrow.

He thinks back to last week when they had been going through his correspondence.

She had brought up that he shouldn’t go with maybes this year, for the Christmas parties that he was invited to. She had referred to him as lovable Leo McGarry and then something about her being a dope, but he couldn’t remember what else she had said because his attention had been pulled away by the latest crisis of this administration.

He thinks back to the last few months and ponders how invaluable she has been to him. She is always there when he needs her and always ready to help in whatever manner she can. There is no doubt in his mind, that he couldn’t have endured these past few months without her by his side. If truth were to be told and if he would be completely honest with himself, he couldn’t have survived these past few years without her by his side. Jenny might have left him, but he could always count on Margaret being there.

Leo can’t remember the last time she hasn’t been at work before him or even when she has taken a day off. He goes into his office and checks his desk for messages. He finds none and sits down behind his desk. He can’t shake the feeling that is in the pit of his stomach. Where is she? He is about to call her at home when Donna comes into the room.

"Leo, just wanted to let you know that Margaret called in sick today. I guess she couldn’t get a hold of anyone here, so she called me."

"Ok, um... would you call and get a temp for me today?" Leo is rubbing the back of his neck, the way he did whenever he is puzzled about something.

"Already have, call if you need any help today."

Before Leo could mutter thanks, Donna was out the door and down the hall. What is going on with Margaret lately, he wonders. But, before he can give it a second thought, Josh comes bounding into the room.

"Hey Leo, we have senior staff in the Oval"

"Ok, I’m coming." They walk through the connecting door and into the Oval Office.

Margaret’s apartment:

7:00 am

Margaret hadn’t slept at all last night. She is on the couch in her robe and slippers and she has spent the last hour staring at the phone. She needs to call into work and let Leo know she isn’t coming in today. She’s never called in sick unless she is really really sick and even then she would usually drag herself in, later in the day. And now here she is, calling in sick and she isn’t sick. At least not physically ill, she is sick in her heart because of the decision she made last night. It is for the best for all those involved and she has to stick by it. She has been postponing her decision for some time now, but it is time. She is going to quit her job. She can no longer work for Leo McGarry.

White House:

9:00 am

After senior staff, Leo goes back into his office and yells for Margaret. A short middle-aged blonde dressed in very conservative business clothes sticks her head in the door.

"Mr. McGarry, don’t you remember Margaret called in sick, I’m your temp for today, Ms. Jane Whitcome, is there something I can do for you?"

Leo looks at her and nods his head. "I know... I’m... just so used to ...here" Holding out some folders. "Could you please file these and I need the report on Child Welfare Reform. I think Margaret summarized it yesterday." He wants to add that he has no idea where she had put it, but Margaret is very organized and it is probably in his in basket on her desk. He’s had Jane as a temp before when Margaret had to be out of town for a family thing or something last year or was it the year before that. He remembers her to be pretty stuffy and very straight laced when it comes to business. But that is ok, he can put up with her for one day. At least she had managed not to mess up Margaret’s filing system the last time she temped for him. A legendary system that he himself has never mastered and he is sure that she keeps changing the logic behind it on him just to keep him confused and out of her files.

Within a couple of minutes, Jane is back in his office with the reform report in her hand. "Here Mr. McGarry, do you require anything else?"

Leo looks up from behind his desk. "Thank you, no, this is all I need right now." And he lowers his head and starts reading the report.

"Mr. McGarry, would you like me to get you some coffee?" Jane remembers that the last time she subbed for Margaret, that he would go through a couple of pots in a day.

"Coffee would be fine, black please." Leo goes back to reading the summary that Margaret had written. For a second, something bothers him, but he can’t quite place the feeling. He’s sure that he has felt it before, but he can’t put a finger on it.

Margaret’s apartment:

9:00 am

Margaret has finally made it off the couch and is reorganizing her CD collection. She breaks the CD’s down into music categories and then alphabetizes each individual category. She has to do something to try and get her mind off what she has decided to do. She needs to figure out how she is going to quit, but here she is, being quirky and cleaning her closet. She doesn’t want to let Leo down, but she can’t go on like this. She will stick with her plan. First quit her job, then find a new job (maybe even out of the district), and get on with her life. She has enough money saved up to pay her bills for at least six months. She has always been very frugal with her money. She grins at the memory of when Leo had told her that she could squeeze the life out of a nickel better than any ten people he knew. Her grin quickly fades and is replaced by the same frown she has been wearing off and on these past few weeks.

White House:

10:30 am

 It’s only 10:30 in the morning and Leo has already yelled for Margaret several times and his temp is starting to get frustrated with him. At first she would just come no matter what names he yells. Now she won’t enter his office unless he calls her own name. He finally remembers her name and bellows it, but somehow it doesn’t roll off his lips like Margaret’s name does.

"Jane."

Jane entered his office. "Mr. McGarry, I would prefer it if you would call me Ms. Whitcome."

Leo stares at her like she has grown a second head. "Sorry, Ms. Whitcome, I need you to find me the Benard file please."

"Mr. McGarry, I will try, but your assistant’s filing system leaves a lot to be desired, I have no idea how she finds anything. She has changed the method of her filing system since the last time I temped for you. The logic, or if you could call it logic, doesn’t make any sense to the normal sectary." With a flip of her head in disgust,   
she leaves his office.

Leo is left there standing with his mouth open. He starts to bolt out of his office to defend Margaret but thinks better of it. He can make it through one day with Ms. Whitcome. If he confronts and upsets her, Margaret will make him pay for it when she gets back tomorrow. Besides, he can’t really blame her, Margaret’s filing system has always frustrated him, but he knew she did it to him on purpose. He had once messed up her files and he was still paying for it years later! Margaret’s method to madness is the most talked about filing system in the White House. No one has a better system. Margaret could always produce whatever he asked for in a matter of seconds.

Margaret’s apartment:

10:30 am

Margaret has finished alphabetizing her CD’s and has moved into the kitchen. It’s been awhile since she has had any free time to spend in this room. Maybe some baking would take her mind off of Leo. She goes through her recipe box and finds a suitable one that she has made several times. She starts about gathering all the ingredients and has the cheesecake in the oven in record time. It’s amazing how quickly she can work when she is trying to avoid thinking about Leo. She sits down at the table and tries to enjoy a cup of coffee. But the smell of coffee reminds her of the endless number of cups she has taken Leo over the past 12 years. She sits there traveling down memory lane. Thinking of all the things that have they have shared and not shared over the years that she has faithfully worked for him. She is brought suddenly from her daydream as the timer goes off on the oven. She takes out the cheesecake and sets it on top of the stove. For a fleeting moment a thought hits her, won’t Leo be surprised that I made his favorite dessert and it’s not even his birthday. But then it all rushes back, she’s quitting and leaving behind her dream of them being together. She falls into a kitchen chair and lays her head down on the table and quietly sobs.

White House:

3:00 pm

Afternoon staff meeting is just breaking up and everyone is leaving Leo’s office. Josh is still hanging around Leo’s desk looking like he needs something. "What?" Leo huffed.

"I was just wondering if you were ok?"

"I’m fine. Why do you ask?"

"I don’t know, but you ... um ... don’t seem like yourself today" Josh is shuffling from one foot to another.

"I’m fine, would you go do a job!"

"Ok. Did you talk to Margaret today and see how she is?"

"I’m sure that’s just what she needs on her sick day at home, is me calling her and bugging her. I know, I sure don’t need you in here bugging me" Leo is staring to get a little upset with his deputy.

"Well, I know if Donna called in sick and I didn’t call her and check on her. They would be hell to pay the next day."

"Well, that’s where we’re different. Margaret and I are not you and Donna!" He isn’t certain what point Josh was trying to make. He has heard rumors about him and Donna, but he always tries to forget things like that as soon as he hears them.

"I’m just saying ..."

"Go!" Leo cut him off before he could finish his sentence. Josh promptly leaves his office. Leo sits behind his desk wonders what is going on with everybody lately. Josh has not been the only staff member bugging him about Margaret today. CJ had come early for the staff meeting and wanted to know how he was doing and if he had talked to Margaret that day. And his conversation with Donna this morning had been unusual at best. He can’t shake the feeling that she knows something about Margaret and is trying to hint about it to him. Why can’t people just cut to the chase and tell him what is going on with Margaret.  He has noticed she has been acting different lately.  Maybe he’ll find some time and talk with her tomorrow and see if there is something that he can help her out with.

Margaret’s apartment:

3:00 pm

After washing the dishes that she dirtied making the cheesecake, Margaret starts to have more pangs of guilt about not being at work today. She wonders if Leo has taken the time or even remembered to eat today. She reaches for the phone to call the office. She could at least inform the temp that he needs to take the time and eat or maybe the temp could run down to the mess and pick something up for him. But, her hand rests over the top of the phone. She chastises herself. "Margaret you need to let go! You have to stop taking care of him!" After this outburst, the tears come screaming down her face again. She rushes to the bedroom and falls onto her bed and cries herself to sleep.

White House:

6:00 pm

This day has seemed to go forever. Leo can’t remember the last time a day seemed to take so long to past. He can’t figure out what is going on with him lately and Margaret not being here today has definitely not made things any better. He gets up from his desk and moves to the couch. He has plenty of things to finish reading before he goes home today, but he can’t stay focused. Maybe the couch will be better. He has just sat down; when Ms. Whitcome knocks on his door and enters his office.

"Mr. McGarry, I’m leaving now."

"Oh, Ok. I didn’t realize it is that late already" He looks at his watch and frowns.

"Mr. McGarry, we are salary at the office pool and don’t get over time and GS pay isn’t the best to begin with."

Leo just stares at her. He has never heard Margaret complain about working more than forty hours, but then again their normal workweek is more like sixty hours. She is always here when he gets to work and never leaves until he does or until he makes her go home. He isn’t sure what he has ever done to deserve her dedication, but he needs to stop taking it for granted. This day has proven that to him. He can’t wait until she comes back to work tomorrow. After that thought popped into his head, that feeling in his stomach returns too.

"Mr. McGarry is there something wrong"

"Um, no. Why did you ask"?

"You are making a strange face, Sir"

"I’m fine. You can leave now."

"Should I come here again tomorrow or report to the office pool?"

"I can’t imagine Margaret calling in sick again tomorrow, so just report to the pool. Thank you for help today."

"Yes, Sir"

Leo is still sitting on his couch and trying to figure out that feeling in the pit of his stomach that he keeps experiencing today, when the President walks into his office. He immediately stands up and starts toward his suit coat that is on the chair next to him.

Jed puts up his hand to stop him. "Sit down Leo. Do you know the one thing that I am really going to miss the most when I’m no longer President?"

"What would that be, Sir?" Leo said still standing, waiting for Jed to sit down first.

"You popping up like a piece of toast every time I walk into the room."  The president smirks as he walks over to the chair next to the couch and sits down.

"Very funny Sir, is there something you need or are you just fed up with democracy and looking for a place to hide?"

"I was just wondering how you were holding up without Margaret being here." 

"Sir?"

"Well, when was the last time you went through a day with her not by your side?"

"I’m fine Sir, Ms. Whitcome is a very capable temp" Leo hopes he isn’t making a face when he says this.

"Yeah, but she’s no Margaret"

"Who is? No one else could put up with me for this long" Leo smiles at his last comment.

The President gets up and heads for the connecting door. On his way out he glances back at Leo. "Remember, I said I didn’t want the staff to put in long hours during the holidays. I’ve heard tell of a rumor that there was even a memo that had to be signed on that very subject." He snickers as he quickly leaves the room.

Leo sits back down on his couch and thinks about calling Margaret and seeing if she is ok. But the phone rings and he answers it. Soon his thoughts are elsewhere.

Margaret’s apartment:

6:00 pm

Margaret’s wakes up from her nap and feels emotionally drained. She knows she needs to follow through with her decision because her sanity is at stake. She can’t go on like she has been. She has wanted to quit ever since Jordan had reappeared on the scene, but so much was going on then and it went downhill fast from there. Zoey’s kidnapping had almost been Leo’s undoing. There was no way she would abandon him during that or anytime soon after it. The shutdown had come and gone and things seemed almost normal again. So it was time. Time to go before something else happened. Time to move on with her life. Time to find herself a real future with someone who loves her in return.

She gets up from her bed and goes out into the living room and sits down on her couch. She reaches for her laptop and powers it up. She knows what she has to do. She has to do this before she changes her mind. Maybe after she drafts her resignation letter, she will start on her way to getting on with her life. Silent, heartbreaking tears start to fall as she begins typing.

White House:

9:30 pm

Most of the senior staff has gone home, but Leo is still at his desk working. He looks up from the file he is reading and yells for Margaret. It takes him a few seconds to realize that she’s not there. Then it all comes back to him. Margaret had called in sick and he had a temp who had left promptly at six pm. She is without doubt not the ‘I go home, when you go home’ type of person and she probably wouldn’t offer to break several federal laws for the good of the Administration either. Leo thinks back to those first few hours and days after the shooting. Thank God Margaret hadn’t been with him that night. After he got back to the White House that night, Margaret never wandered very far from his side and she had been willing to sacrifice her freedom to keep him and the President out of trouble. She has stuck by his side since she started working for him during his first year as Labor Sectary. He would never have made it this far without her. Her fierce loyalty toward him was legendary and nothing or nobody got past her. She watched out for him and protected him but she would be the first person to kick his butt if he slipped. 

For the first time today, a small lopsided grin appeared on his face at the memory of that infernal egg joke Margaret had once told him.  His Margaret is something else and there is that unexplained feeling again. Maybe he’s been drinking too much coffee lately. Whatever it is, it has been bothering him off and on for a few months. But it seems worse today. He knew he has felt this before, but he can’t place when or where.

Margaret’s apartment:

9:30 pm

Margaret has been staring at her laptop for over 3 hours now. She has typed and retyped and still can’t find the right combination of words to make her happy. But then again, how can she be happy leaving the job and the man she loves? Would she ever be able to find happiness again? But, isn’t this the real reason behind her leaving. She has to move on. She can’t go on like this anymore. She can’t love him this much and be by his side if he doesn’t return her feelings. She has never spoken of her feelings to him. She is too afraid of him not returning that emotion and that would be so embarrassing. She is leaving the one thing she could count on all these years. He has never been hers in any true sense, but they have worked well together. These past few years at the White house have been some of the best and worst times she has ever experienced.

She thinks back to the night that she realized that she loved him. Normally she would have attended that type of an event, but this time there was something that Leo needed completed so she had stayed behind. He would be coming back after the town hall meeting and they would go over the summary together. It would be another late night, but she didn’t mind. She loved working with Leo at nighttime. It would be just the two of them and they had always worked well that way. She loved it when it was just they alone at work.

She was with Mrs. Landingham when she heard the news. She rushed back to her office and watched the news unfold. She was sure that she saw Leo in one of the news clips being shoved down to the ground and then just lying there. Was he hurt? Oh my god, what would she do without him? And that’s when it hit her. She loved him. Well, she had always loved him, but now she realized that she was in love with him. She prayed to God that he and the others would be ok.

It was over an hour before she had heard from him and during that time all she could see was him lying on the ground in a pool of blood. There had been several phone calls during that time and she died a little bit each time that it wasn’t him. When he finally did call, she almost told him how she felt, but she regained her senses and asked him what he needed for her to do. With everything going on, he didn’t need a tall skinny red head fawning all over him.

After he got back to the White House that night, she could tell he was suffering and was on the edge. She had to restrain herself from rushing to him and hugging him. He was doing a great job of hiding it from everyone else, but Margaret could see he was hurting. She had worried that his terror nightmares from the war would come back. She had witnessed a few of them when he was the Labor Sectary. He would get drunk or pop pills and then sleep it off in his office. Some of those mornings he would wake up screaming and be covered in sweat. Margaret wasn’t sure that she could go through that again. So during those first few days of after the shooting, she never strayed more than a few feet away from him. She wanted to be there for whatever he needed and she wanted to be there to stop him from falling.

Leo’s hotel:

11:30 pm

Leo’s driver drops him off at his hotel and he wearily makes his way up to his room. He removes his jacket and slips off his tie and falls onto the couch. This is the first real break that he has had all day and with his hotel room being so quiet, he notices his stomach is making noise. He tries to think back to the events of the day, he’s sure that Margaret must of forced something down him today, but wait, Margaret wasn’t there today to force him to eat. He has gone all day without food. He calls room service and orders something. He thinks to himself, that if she ever misses a whole week, he might starve to death. He grins at this thought and heads to the bedroom.

While he waits for his food to be delivered he changes into his pajamas. That feeling is back in his stomach again, its not hunger, but it is starting to make him nervous. What is going on with him lately? He goes into the bathroom and stares at himself in the mirror.

He thinks about calling Margaret and checking on how she is feeling, but he realizes its way to late at night to call her. Plus if he calls her now, she’ll know that he was at the office until after 11:00 just three days before Christmas. She would get it out of him that he just got home. He could never get by with lying to her, she always saw right through him and tonight there would be extra hell to pay.

The President had made it very clear in a meeting last week that he wanted the staff to work more normal hours this Christmas season and encouraged them to make good use of their annual leave that they had built up and had not been able to use this past year. The President had been looking directly at Leo during his whole spiel and was giving him hell through facial expressions. But what had made his little speech even worst was that Margaret had been in the room during the Presidents’ directives and she had made it a point to mention it to Leo repeatedly over the past few days. She even typed up a memo referred to as "The Rules for Annual Leave Use This Holiday" and made him sign it.

Leo’s food arrives and he sits down to eat it. After only a couple of bites, something doesn’t seem right. Yes, something is definitely missing. Then it dawns on him, most of his meals include Margaret hovering over him and making sure he eats. He can’t help but smile his lopsided half grin at this image and there is that strange feeling again. What the hell is going on with him?

Margaret’s apartment:

11:30 pm

Margaret has long since given up on writing her resignation letter. Nothing seems good enough to express her gratitude to Leo for the opportunity of working in the White House. Who knew all those years ago, when she took the job as his sectary, when he was at the Labor Department, that she would wind up working 20 feet from the Oval Office.

Her mind wanders back to the night that she realized it was time to move on. It was election night and she was looking for Leo. She found him on the portico dancing with Jordan. That image was burned into her mind forever. He seemed so happy with her. He was holding her really close and whispering in her ear. She had dreamed about him doing this to her and now he was doing it with Jordan. God, Leo could be so charming when he wanted to be. She had known that it was a possibility that they were an item, because Jordan had been around a lot lately, but she was hoping that Jordan was there for just business. After that night, there was no doubt in her mind to what was really going on between them. She had half expected him to slam Jordan against the column out on the portico and take her right there. That had been a reoccurring fantasy about her and Leo and she couldn’t watch them anymore. She quietly left the grounds and went home and drowned her sorrows in drink. It was the first time she had gotten drunk since Leo’s recovery.

During the passing weeks after the election, Jordan was around a lot. Margaret always found somewhere else to be whenever Jordan was in Leo’s office. She couldn’t believe that Leo fell for this woman. She seemed like a hard dispassionate woman, but maybe that was what he was looking for. She was definitely the complete opposite of Jordan. That’s when she realized that she would never be the one for Leo. But before she had a chance to quit, world events had interrupted her plan and before she knew it, a year had gone by and she was still working and pining over Leo.

But that is all over with now. Tomorrow she will call in sick again and finish her letter of resignation. She decides to go to bed now and try and get some sleep.


	2. Christmas Without You 2

**Christmas Without You**

**by:[ AdoreLeo](mailto:rockfordfilesfan@aol.com)**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

December 23, 2003

White House:

7:00 am

Last night had brought snow to the District so the streets and sites of Washington were encased with a delicate white blanket. Leo stares out the window of his car as his driver makes his way to the White House. He can’t help but notice how peaceful and illusory DC looks this morning. The monuments are always so picturesque, when jacketed with snow. He is sure that Margaret will go on and on about what a beautiful morning it is outside. His heart starts to beat a little faster at his last thought. He can’t wait to get to work and hear what she has to say about the snow.

Leo enters his office to find it dark and his office door is still locked. His first thought is that Margaret has probably been delayed due to the snow. He unlocks his door and hangs up his camel colored overcoat on his coat tree and walks over to his computer. It is still on from last night. He must have forgotten to shut it down last night. Margaret always does that for him he thought. She should be here any minute now. She’s going to notice that he was here late last night. Nothing ever gets by her.

Leo sits down at his desk and starts to straight up the mess he made yesterday. There’s a knock at his door and Donna walks into his office.

"Good Morning Leo."

"Hey Donna, if you’re looking for Margaret she must be running late from all the snow we got last night. I’m sure she’ll be in here any minute now." Leo’s voice can’t mask the trepidation that he feels.

"Um... Leo, that’s why I’m here. I just got off the phone with her and ... she won’t be coming in again today." Donna turns to leave; she isn’t in any mood to play twenty questions with Leo.

"Donna, did she say what was wrong?"

Donna turned back to face Leo. "No, it was sort of a strange call, but then again you know Margaret." Donna bit her bottom lip; thinking that maybe she should just keep her opinions to herself.

"What do you mean strange?" The feeling in his stomach intensified.

"Well... she sounded more upset, than sick. Oh, and I almost forgot, she said to tell you ‘she was sorry.’ " Donna refused to look Leo in the eye when she told him this. She doesn’t want Leo to know that she is worried that something else is going on. Margaret has not been her cheery self lately and Donna has tried to find out what was going on, but Margaret has been very closed mouthed. She had even caught Margaret crying at her desk one day last week, after Leo had gone to the Sit Room.

"Donna, do you know what’s going on with Margaret?"

"No." Donna says trying not to show any worry in her face.

"Yeah?" Leo couldn’t help but think that she is holding something back from him. "I’ll need a temp again today."

"I’ve already called and got you a temp. Ms. Whitcome is the only one available." Donna literally spit her name out. She and the other senior staff assistants found Ms. Whitcome very unfriendly. They all had stopped by yesterday to see if she needed any help and each one of them were told that she was quite competent and she could handle the job. Ginger had told Donna that Ms. Whitcome had made comments about Margaret’s filing system and her lack of ability to teach Leo how to use the intercom.

"Donna, are you ok?" Leo asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Donna said without changing expressions.

"Well, you just seemed like you were lost in thought and you were making a, I don’t know, sort of a pissed off look on your face."

"Sorry, my mind drifts sometimes, ah ... I need to get back or Josh will come looking for me. I swear that man can’t go five minutes without me in the office with him."

Leo watches Donna leave his office and can’t help but agree with Donna’s last statement and the feeling in his stomach tells him that the same is true for him when it comes to Margaret. He decides it time to call her. He searches his top desk drawer for Margaret’s home phone number. He can’t shake the feeling that he should have called her yesterday. He finds her number and dials it. The phone rings four times and then the machine picks up. ‘Hi you’ve reached Margaret McGuire. I’m probably at work right now, so please try there, if you have the number. But, if you are one of those annoying telemarketing people, please stop calling me!’ Leo couldn’t help but grin at her message. But when he hears the tone, he panics; he’s not sure what to say, after a couple of seconds of silence. He hangs up the phone. "Damnit!"

Margaret’s apartment:

7:00 am

It’s been almost a half hour since Margaret called and talked to Donna. She had almost lost it on the phone with her. Donna had been full of questions and Margaret is sure that she suspects something is really wrong and that she is not really sick.

Margaret can’t help but feel guilty about lying to Donna, but worst than that, is her guilt from being dishonest with Leo. That is something she has never done before. She is use to deceiving herself. She has been doing that for years. But, now it is time for that to stop.

Margaret walks over to her couch and grabs her laptop off the coffee table. She has to complete this step of her plan. She sits down on the couch and tries once again to write her letter of resignation.

White House:

9:00 am

Ms. Whitcome walks into Leo’s office. "Mr. McGarry, I’ve been buzzing you on the intercom, didn’t you hear it?"

"I’m sorry Jane ... um ... I mean Ms. Whitcome, so that was what that annoying noise was."

"Mr. McGarry, does Margaret even use the intercom? It’s so much more efficient than running in and out of here all the time and if you would use it you wouldn’t have to shout all the time."

Leo stands up from behind his desk. "It’s how Margaret and I have worked for years." His voice is starting to show a hint of anger.

"Well, with all due respect Sir, I think its highly improper for someone in your high level position to be yelling for his assistant."

"Well, I think that since you are just a ..." Leo stops mid sentence. There’s no reason to make things worst. "Ms. Whitcome, Margaret and I both prefer a more personal working relationship. It’s just what works best for us." Leo drops his shoulders and sits back down on his chair. "Now, is there something you need?"

"Yes, I came in to tell you that senior staff starts in ..." She looks down at her watch. "Five minutes ago in the Oval Office, Sir."

"Well why didn’t you tell me five minutes ago!" Leo is losing his patience.

"Sir, if you would answer your intercom, you wouldn’t be running late."

"Yeah, well ... Thanks." Leo gets up and grabs a folder and walks through the connecting doors and into the Oval Office.

"There you are." Says the President, who is sitting in his normal chair surrounded by the rest of the senior staff. "I was about to send out a search and rescue team for you, or at the very least Charlie."

"Very funny, Sir." Leo walks over to the chair directly across from the President and sits down.

The meeting goes on for about an hour. Leo is having a hard time concentrating on what is being discussed. He can’t seem to stop worrying about Margaret. ‘As soon as this meeting from hell is over with, I’m going to call Margaret.’ He thinks to himself.

"Leo ... LEO." The President is looking right at Leo.

"Um ... Yes Sir." Leo has that deer in the headlight look.

"Isn’t this where you normally say, what else?"

"Sorry, I ... um ... if that’s all ... I need to make a phone call." Leo gets up and hurriedly walks back to his office.

The President is left sitting there with his mouth open. The rest of the senior staff stand up and say ‘thank you Sir’ and leave as quickly as they can. The President gets up and walks to his desk. He wonders what in the world is going on with Leo. He makes a mental note to remember to talk to him later today.

Margaret’s apartment:

9:00 am

Margaret’s phone just rang for the third time this morning. She can’t believe how many phone calls she gets during the day. This is the first time she has been home during the week for two days in row, in ages. She has once again given up on what is turning out to be, the resignation letter from hell and turns on the TV.

Margaret flips through the channels looking for something to watch. She stops on Jerry Springer. The subject for today’s show is shown on the bottom of the screen. ‘Secretaries Who Fall in Love With Their Bosses’. Margaret can’t help but smirk. "Yeah, well here’s a show for me." After about two minutes Margaret turns off the TV in disgust. "Oh my god, am I as pathetic as those losers on that show?"

Margaret gets up off the couch and goes to the hallway outside her apartment and picks up her newspaper. She walks into the kitchen. Pours  herself a cup of coffee and sits down at the table. She opens the paper up and right there on the front page is a color picture of the President and Leo at some event yesterday. Leo had on his double-breasted gray pin stripe suit with his power lavender tie and matching handkerchief in his breast pocket. "He really looks sexy, and man, he sure can wear a suit!." Margaret says out loud.

After staring at the picture for a couple of minutes, she turns the paper to the Job Opportunities section. She needs to start looking for another job.

White House:

10:30 am

Leo is sitting at his desk, Toby is in his office going on about something, but he can’t remember what. Finally, Leo holds his hand up to him. "Toby, I need to make a phone call, can we finish this later?"

"Yeah." Toby grumbles back at him and walks out of Leo’s office into Margaret’s outer office.

Leo dials and hears the same familiar message that he has already heard several times this morning. This time he leaves a message.

Josh is standing in front of Margaret’s desk, waiting for his turn with Leo.

"He needs to make a phone call, I’d wait a minute or two." Toby says to Josh.

"Ok, no problem."

"Good luck trying to keep his attention. What is going on with him these past couple of days?" Toby looks at Ms. Whitcome and then leaves.

"Ms. Whitcome, this is when Margaret usually tells me a joke." Josh says.

"I’m sorry Mr. Lyman. I don’t know any. Jokes are a waste of time and not proper for the work place, especially the White House. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to take this file to the copy center." Ms. Whitcome grabs a folder and walks out.

Leo hangs up quickly and mutters "Damnit!"  He doesn’t know what is wrong with him. He’s been reduced to a babbling idiot who can’t leave a decent and coherent phone message and if the feeling in his stomach got any worst, he was going to ... Well, he would think of something!

Josh is about to leave when he hears Leo slam his phone down and mutter "Damnit!"

Josh knocks on Leo’s door end enters the room. "Leo, I needed to speak to you about ..."

Leo stops him before he can go any further. "Josh, not now ... I ... I have a meeting with Senator Baines, that I need to get ready for. So, if you’ll excuse me." Leo looks down at his phone and then back up at Josh.

"Leo, is everything ok?"

"Yeah ... Yeah."

"Ok, um ... I’ll come back in a couple of hours, do you want me to get on your schedule with Ms. Whitcome?" Josh smirked as he said Ms. Whitcome.

Leo looks up at him. "Yeah, get with Ms. Whitcome." Leo mimicked.

Margaret’s apartment:

10:30 am

Margaret is now cleaning the bathroom. If she keeps this up her apartment will be spotless. She keeps postponing writing the one thing that she hopes will help to set her free.

Her phone rings again. She has been ignoring the phone all morning. This time though, the person leaves a message:

"Um.. Hi. It’s Leo. I’m just checking to see how you are feeling? I ... um .. Sorry to bother you ...Would you ... Bye."

After Leo hangs up, Margaret falls to the floor and pulls her knees to her chest and rocks back and forth as her tears return. Hearing his voice has sent shivers up her spine. How was she ever going to leave her feelings for him behind? How was she ever going to be happy without the one she loves? If only he felt the same way.

White House:

3:00 pm

Leo enters the White House and swiftly heads for his office. His meeting with Senator Baines did not go well. It ended with Leo shouting at him and then him abruptly leaving. He walks by Margaret’s desk and looks for messages. He grabs the stack and goes into his office and slams the door. He is in no mood for anyone to stop by right now.

Leo walks behind his desk, sits down and starts to go through his messages. The one he was hoping to find was not there. Why hasn’t Margaret called him back? The feeling in his stomach just got worst. Is Margaret so sick that she can’t make it to the phone? Donna spoke to her this morning, maybe she knows more than she was telling or maybe Margaret called and talked to Donna again. There is only one way to find out.

Leos heads out of his office and off to the bullpen. Donna is not at her desk, so he decides to go in and tell Josh to send Donna over when she gets back. He stops abruptly when he hears Josh in his office talking to someone about Margaret. The other person speaks up and it’s CJ.

"So, this is the second day she has called in sick," CJ asks Josh.

"Yeah, and Leo has the that no-nonsense temp again. She is so straight laced and stuffy. I asked her if she knew a joke and she went off on me."

"Leo must be enjoying someone who just wants to work and not spend time telling egg jokes."

"Yeah, hey she’s short, older, very professional and kind of grumpy. They probably are the perfect match."

When Leo hears this comment, he decides it’s time to head back to his office. He thinks about what Josh has just said. He and Ms. Whitcome? I think not. His mood is even more foul now, than it was before.

"Josh, how could you say that? I wouldn’t wish her on anyone. And besides, I’ve always thought that Leo has a soft spot for Margaret." CJ has a wishful look on her face when thinking about Leo and Margaret.

"CEEJ, Leo and Margaret, that’s not an image I want."

"Oh Josh, grow up!"

"OK ..., but I just never thought about it. I mean ... Margaret has always been there and well, its sort of like thinking about your parents, ya know!"

"Josh, I suspect that Leo isn’t even aware of how he feels... but Margaret probably is and I don’t know... but something has been different with her lately. She’s not been her cheery self lately and now she’s called in sick two days in a row."

"CJ, I’d love to stand here and talk about this, but I need to keep my appointment with Leo."

Josh finds Leo in his office sitting on his couch. "Hey Leo, are you ready to talk about 932?"

"Josh, why would think I would want to talk about that? I mean I’m here in my office, its time for our meeting and I’ve got the briefing book here on it?" Leo said very sarcastically.

Josh goes over to the chair next to the couch and sits down. "Ok, well the thing about this is..."

Josh goes on for a while and Leo comments occasionally, but his heart is not in his work today. He wonders if this day will ever end.

Margaret’s apartment:

3:00 pm

Margaret has been rearranging her furniture in her living room for the past hour. She really needs to stop and eat something. She hasn’t had anything but coffee today. She goes to the kitchen and fixes herself a sandwich. She sits down and starts to eat it. She feels guilty about eating. She’s sure that Leo probably hasn’t eaten anything today. That man won’t take the time to eat or sleep if he has his way and he won’t stop for anything unless Margaret gets her way.

How many times since they got to the White House has she had to stand over top of that man to get him to slow down and eat something? And when he did stop on his own and get something to eat it was never a healthy item. She remembers the time that he was heading to the sit room and she was on him about health and fitness, he about had a cow when she asked him what he had for breakfast. He said he had half a grapefruit, but she knew he was lying. She could always see right through him.

Who is going to make sure he takes care of himself now? Who will rein him in when his temper flares? Will his next assistant stay until he leaves work? Will they drive him crazy with mindless trivia and jokes? Will the next one know how he likes his coffee? Will she also fall in love him too?

White House:

6:00 pm

Leo is sitting behind his desk and is going through his personal drawer when Ms. Whitcome comes into his office.

"Mr. McGarry, do you need anything before I leave for the night?"

"No, I’m fine. Thank you." He quickly shuts the drawer.

"Ok, well maybe I’ll see you tomorrow."

"Ms. Whitcome, um ... nothing... that’s all, thanks."

"Ok" She gives him a puzzled look and leaves.

Leo was about to ask her what her plans were for Christmas, but he’s sure that she would find that unprofessional. He misses his banter with Margaret. He misses her nagging him about eating right or enough, not sleeping enough and her new thing lately has been to get him to stop slouching in his chair.

Leo slides open his personal drawer and pulls out the file that has been dubbed The Margaret Museum. He starts to look through the notes from Margaret that he has saved from her over the years. They all are very neatly folded and carefully stored in the folder. He opens the one on top and can’t help but smile at its memory.

Early this year, Margaret had really been on a healthy food kick. She had followed him to the sit room going over the President’s schedule and when they got to item about the Health and Fitness Council, she went off on what he had had for breakfast. He lied of course and said he had half a grapefruit. When he got in the sit room he asked someone to get him a grapefruit. The meeting had been going on for about 15 minutes when his grapefruit showed up, but it didn’t come alone. There was a note on the tray. Leo immediately recognized the paper and the fold. He opened the note and read:

Leo,

Why do you think you can get by with lying to me? Now, eat your damn grapefruit!

Margaret

Leo huffed to himself about the note. Fitz had asked ‘was a note from his girlfriend.’ And Leo sarcastically smirked, ‘no it’s from your wife.’ Then the meeting continued on as usual. Leo had found out later that she had been in the mess when his request had come into the kitchen. The kitchen staff being well aware of Margaret recent health kick informed her, hence the note.

Leo’s favorite note was not in the folder. He kept that one in his wallet. It was just too special. Leo had been in a very, stressful daylong meeting with a bunch of diplomats concerning an up coming visit and State Dinner. He was about ready to kill someone over their outrageous demands. Margaret came to into the room just as Leo was about to unload on them; her timing as usual was perfect. Leo sat there and read the note and then he reread it. Margaret had recently been trying to learn to speak Italian through a correspondence course, so she had written the note in Italian.

Leo,

potrei avere il bibbunino, per favore?"

Margaret

Translated it meant: Could I have your baby, please? Leo started to laugh out loud. The diplomats just started at him. After a few seconds, Leo composed himself and went on with the meeting.

Leo was inanely grinning from that memory. Margaret had meant to write: Could I have the check, please? She had been spouting that phrase the whole day before. He had never told her about her mistake, she would have probably died from embarrassment. But the note had done the job that it was suppose to and it was his favorite Margaret note.

Just as Leo is putting away the folder, the President comes strolling into his office.

"Leo, just what the heck is your problem today?"

Leo jumps up as usual. "What do you mean Sir?"

"Well, you haven’t exactly been little Miss Mary Sunshine today, from the reports I have heard." Jed walks over to Leo couch and sits down. He motions for Leo to come join him.

"Sir, I’ve had a busy day and I still have a lot of reading left to do before I can go home tonight."

"LEO, what did I say about working normal hours this and next week?" Jed says in a voice that conveys that he is losing his patience with Leo.

"Yes Sir, but the government just doesn’t stop because its Christmas. And since Margaret ...." Leo stops suddenly and doesn’t know what else to say.

"Leo are you ok?" Jed leans towards him and places a hand on his shoulder.

"I’m fine Sir."

"You know, I can tell when you are lying. Leo, you haven’t been yourself these past couple of days. Does it have something to do with Margaret? Is she ok?" Jed knew that if Margaret was sick enough to miss two days in a row, that it must be serious. He wasn’t sure that Leo could handle it if something was seriously wrong with Margaret. He also suspected that Leo felt more for his assistant, than he was willing to admit to.

"Sir, I .. don’t know how she is. I’ve been calling all day and she doesn’t answer. I even left a message, but she didn’t return it." Leo face shows deep concern.

"Leo, that’s not like our Margaret. She would return your call from her death bed."

At this last statement Leo has visually jumped. He seems on the verge of panic.

"Leo, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply..." Jed just left his statement hang. He didn’t know what to say to Leo.

"Sir, I’m sure there is a perfectly good reason why Margaret hasn’t returned my call." Leo says trying to compose himself and drive those thoughts from his head that he too has been thinking.

"Leo, why don’t you go home and try and get some rest." I’m sure Margaret will be back at work tomorrow and she will be tormenting you about your foul humor these past two days. Because you know someone will tell on you and if someone else doesn’t,  I’ll rat you out!"

Leo tried to come up with a grin, but he failed miserably. "I’ll try. See you tomorrow Sir" He gets up off the couch and walks over to his coat tree, grabs his overcoat and briefcase and is out the door.

The President sat there for a while, wondering how he could help Leo. It was so obvious to him now, that Leo was in love with Margaret. Tonight’s conversation and his reactions had proven that much. He slowly gets up and walks into his office to finish up a few things before he heads to the Residence and to Abbey. When he reaches his office, he remembers to call the operator and close down the Chief of Staff’s office for the night.

Margaret’s apartment:

6:00 pm

Margaret is sitting on her couch. She just finished her letter o resignation. It is shorter than she would like, but what could she write? She couldn’t very well tell him the real reason she is leaving. But it contains all the necessary information and it is finally done. She’ll have it couriered over to the office tomorrow. It is too late tonight to have someone come pick it up, even though she has no doubt in her mind that Leo is still at the office and able to receive it.

She wonders how his day went today. His message he left sounded strange and strained. Maybe she should return his call and check up on him. She picks up the phone and dials his private line. The White House operator picks up and informs her that the Chief of Staff’s office is closed for the evening.

Margaret is shocked that Leo has shutdown the office already tonight. Was he sick? What was going on? She couldn’t remember the last time Leo went home this early. She knew it couldn’t be Christmas, because it never made to leave early before. And Lord knows how many times Margaret has wanted him to leave early during the holidays. Should she call him at his hotel and check on him? NO!! This has to stop! She thought to herself. And then the next second she thinks maybe she should call Mallory. But then Mallory will call her dad. She didn’t want Leo calling her again today. Her mind is still racing as she heads to her bedroom to find something to get her mind off of him.

She picks up her knitting and starts to work on the scarf she has been knitting. She’s been knitting for about a half an hour, before she realizes that the scarf she is working on was suppose to be Leo’s Christmas present. It would match his camel colored overcoat perfectly. She stops knitting and starts to cry again. She thinks to herself that eventually, she has to run out of tears.

The Residence:

8:00 pm

Jed walks into the Residence and goes searching for Abbey. He finds her in the kitchen doing some last minute baking.

"What ya doing?"

Abbey jumps having not realized that Jed has walked into the room. "Jethro, stop scaring me"

"Sorry, are you baking?"

"Yes, what’s it to you"

"I just can’t remember the last time you baked something."

"Shut up."

"Ok, lets just remember who your Commander and Chief is."

"Ok, lets just remember that I can make your life a living hell."

"Ah, ... ok point taken." Jed walks over to Abbey and puts his arms around her and pulls her in for a hug.

"Why are you baking?"

"I overheard Zoey say something to Charlie today about cookies I used to bake at Christmas when she was little and I just thought it would be a nice surprise this year."

"Sounds good" He is still hanging on tightly to her.

"Jed, is everything ok?"

"Yeah, well .. I mean I’m not sure. I just sent Leo home tonight at six o’clock and he didn’t even fight me over it."

"Is he sick? Why didn’t you call me? Did he catch what Margaret’s got? I heard she’s  missed two days in a row. She must have that nasty flu that is going around."

"He’s not sick." Jed pulls away from the hug and walks over to the kitchen table and sits down.

"Jed, what’s going on? Is he ok? Did something happen?"

"He’s been a bear these past two days. Snapping at everyone, he even walked out of a meeting on the hill today. He’s .. I don’t know. I think he worried about Margaret."

"Just how sick is she?"

"That’s just it, no one knows. I heard rumors that she seemed more upset than sick when she talked to Donna. Leo tried to call her several times today and she never answered her phone. She didn’t even return the message he left."

Abbey has moves over to the table and sits down next to Jed. "Jed what else aren’t you telling me"

"Abbey, you’re going to think I’m crazy, but I think he’s in love with her."

"Well Jethro, it took you long enough to figure that one out. I’ve suspected that for quite a while now. I think he’s been in love with her for the past couple of years."

"Well then, why didn’t you say something to me?"

"Because you would try and play match maker and screw the whole thing up."

"I would not!"

"Yes you would!"

"I’ll have you know that my match making skills are legendry."

"Jed, just leave Leo alone. Let him work this out for himself."

"Abbey, you know Leo, I think he feels he doesn’t deserve to be happy."

"I know Jed, but he has to figure that out for himself."

Zoey had been heading to the kitchen for a snack when she heard her parents mention her name. She stopped short, outside the door and listened. She really didn’t mean to eves drop on their conversation about Leo, but she was curious to hear what they had been discussing about her. But after she heard Leo’s name, she just had to listen. He had seemed so different since her kidnapping and she was worried about him. She left the hallway before her parents realized she was out there.

Leo’s Hotel:

9:30 pm

Leo has been home now for a few hours. He has just been sitting on the couch and thinking about the past couple of days. How he made it through another day without Margaret is a wonder. He goes into his bedroom and changes into his pajamas. He turns on the radio beside his bed in an effort to draw his mind away from these past couple of days. The station that he normally listens to, is in full holiday mode and is playing only Christmas Carols. When Christmas Without You comes on, he lies down on his bed and gives the song his full attention.

_White Christmas and I’m Blue_

_Like fireworks with no fuse_

# Christmas without you

 

Leo thinks about how unbearable work has been these past two days without Margaret. He didn’t realize just how much he depends on her quirkiness and humor to get him though the day.

 

 

_The fireplace keeps burning and my thoughts keep turning_

_The pages of memories of time spent with you_

_Old Christmas songs we knew and used to make love to_

_Make it hard to get used to_

_Christmas Without you_

 

He can’t help but let out a sigh and think how accurate those words are. True they have never been together as a couple in that sense. Leo wonders, where did that thought come from? Wasn’t that the feeling he had been experiencing of late? Was he really in love with Margaret?  Those lines do seem to fit him, without his Margaret.

 

 

_Christmas without you_

_White Christmas and I’m blue_

_I love you and I miss you_

# So sad but so true

_Christmas without you_

_Like a mystery with no clues_

_Like Fireworks with no fuse_

_Christmas without you_

 

My life summed up in one small chorus in a Christmas song, how depressing is that, he thinks. He can’t help but think, that unhappiness is all he deserves. A lone tear slowly descends down his face and falls silently onto his pillow.

 

 

_The sweetest gift I know would be if the new snow_

_Could fall on your footsteps on this Christmas Eve_

_The most joyous Christmas if luck could be with us_

_Would be if Saint Nicholas brought you to me_

 

 

The sweetest gift would be her with me on Christmas morning. But she doesn’t feel the same way I do. What would she want with an old man like me? She knows about my demons and has seen me at my worst. How could she love me after all she has seen? But oh, what joy it would me bring if she was mine. "My Christmas’s will always be without you." He whispers to himself. After the song ends he rolls over and falls asleep.

Margaret’s apartment:

9:30 pm

Margaret goes into her bedroom, turns on the radio and sits down on the bed. Once again, she is trying to get her mind off of Leo. She thinks about cleaning or organizing something else, but her apartment has had a complete overhaul these past two days. She decides to lie back on the bed and listen to the Christmas music playing on the radio. The next song that plays is Christmas Without You.

_White Christmas and I’m Blue_

_Like fireworks with no fuse_

# Christmas without you

Oh my god, how true those first few lines are for me. I feel like nothing without Leo, even though he has never really ever been mine.

_The fireplace keeps burning and my thoughts keep turning_

_The pages of memories of time spent with you_

Yes, we sure have spent a lot of time together over these past twelve years. I have so many wonderful memories of my time as your assistant, but they are not enough to satisfy me. I want to make memories of us together as a couple.

_Old Christmas songs we knew and used to make love to_

_Make it hard to get used to_

_Christmas Without you_

"I wish." Margaret smirks out loud. She knows that she will never get the chance to feel his gentle hands on her body.

_Christmas without you_

_White Christmas and I’m blue_

_I love you and I miss you_

# So sad but so true

_Christmas without you_

_Like a mystery with no clues_

_Like Fireworks with no fuse_

_Christmas without you_

"How can I ever get used to being without you?" She wonders out loud. The Christmas’s that I have spent with you have always been at work, but in my mind and heart there has been so much more. The tears of sadness start to flow again.

 

_The sweetest gift I know would be if the new snow_

_Could fall on your footsteps on this Christmas Eve_

_The most joyous Christmas if luck could be with us_

_Would be if Saint Nicholas brought you to me_

"This is too much to expect. His footsteps will never fall upon my doorstep. He doesn’t feel the same way I do. My Christmas’s will always be without you." She whispers to herself. After the song ends she rolls over and falls asleep.

Leo’s Hotel:

11:30 pm

Leo wakes up and he is lying on top of the covers on his bed. He bolts upright and looks around apprehensively. He is alone in bed. It must have been a dream. It all comes rushing back to him. She had been here in this room, with him. More importantly, she had been in his bed. They had made love and it had been amazing. He had made love to Margaret! His mind starts to clear and he is more awake now. He realizes that an incident has occurred. He hasn’t had that type of dream in a long time. Not since, well... he can’t remember when. He can’t believe that this has happened to him, a man of his age. God, this is so embarrassing.

After he is done in the bathroom and changed his clothes, he gets under the covers and tries to get back to sleep. But the images from his dream keep flooding his mind. Oh my god, she had been so beautiful and so soft. He had run his hands up and down her whole body. Her legs were.... He sat back up in bed. He has to stop this line of thinking. He needs to calm down. She will never be his. He lies back down and tries to think about the Welfare Reform Bill that he has been working on lately. He tosses and turns the rest of the night.

Margaret’s apartment:

11:30 pm

Margaret wakes up and she is lying on top of the covers on her bed. She slowly looks and around and discovers it has all been a sweet dream. He is not in her room and he is not in her bed. But in her dream he had been there and he had made the most mind-boggling love to her. She can’t help but think that this has been the most intense and realistic dream she has ever had. She has fantasized before about them in bed together, but this is the first time she has done nothing to help her situation, her release happened without her help. Her muscles are still contracting and her heart rate is still rapid as she lies here thinking about Leo’s gentle hands roaming her body. He had been extremely gentle and loving.

Margaret gets up and goes the bathroom. She brushes her teeth and then heads back to bed. She seriously needs to get some sleep. He has been invading her dreams more frequently lately and she has not been getting enough sleep. She lies down, pulls the covers up to her head and wills herself not to think about Leo. She tosses and turns the rest of the night.


	3. Christmas Without You 3

**Christmas Without You**

**by:[ AdoreLeo](mailto:rockfordfilesfan@aol.com)**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

Dec 24, 2003

White House:

5:00 am

Leo has spent a restless night trying to sleep. He finally gives up and goes into work early. He knows Margaret won’t be in this early, so he is not concerned when he walks through her office and finds her desk vacant. He is probably going to really catch it from her for coming into work at such an early hour. But he really doesn’t care; he can’t wait to hear her voice today. Even if it is her high-pitched ‘you’re in so much trouble voice.’ He loves to hear that voice. Where did that come from, he thought? Love and Margaret’s name in the same sentence is having quite an effect on him. The thoughts and dreams he had about Margaret are the main reasons he couldn’t sleep last night.

He has tried to deal with these thoughts than once in the past couple of years. They are one of the main reasons he started dating Jordan again last year. He was trying to get his mind off Margaret. He succeeded for a little while, with his flirtation with Jordan, but then Zoey’s kidnapping happened, it just took too much effort to stay involved with Jordan. During the kidnapping, Leo had pretty much put his personnel life on hold. He didn’t call Jordan during the time Zoey was being held or in the weeks that followed. His involvement with Jordan had helped him push those feelings for Margaret aside and he had thought that he had been successful in killing them until they had come flooding back last night, invading his dreams again.

Leo has suspected that Margaret was not a big fan of Jordan. Margaret always seemed to disappear whenever she was around. He was never really sure what that meant exactly. It was something that he tried to put out of his mind. There was no way that Margaret could harbor any feelings toward him. He is a good number of years older than her, he is what some would call a grump, and he is a workaholic, drug addict and alcoholic. Not a very good combination for such a young beautiful woman like Margaret. She deserves better than him. He needs to get over this. He is now sure that this is what has been bothering him for weeks. How could he not have seen this?

After last night’s dream, Leo is very apprehensive about seeing Margaret. He’s afraid he won’t be able to control himself when she is around. She has had this effect on him before, but he has always been able to conceal it from her. The closest call he had, was early last year, before the reelection.

Most of the senior staff and the President were on the campaign trail. Leo had stayed behind to run things, which meant, Margaret had to stay behind too. It had been a very hot humid long day at work and tempers were short. He needed a file that CJ had borrowed from him. He yelled for Margaret. She must have taken a break he thought. He got up and made his way to CJ’s office. He was in a hurry and wasn’t paying any attention that CJ’s door might have been closed for a reason. He grabbed the door knob and threw open the door. What he saw has been burned into his memory ever since then. Margaret was in the process of removing her pantyhose.

"Leo! What the hell!" was all she could manage to get out of her mouth.

"Oh god, Margaret ... um ... I’m sorry." Leo shut the door quickly and went straight back to his office. He couldn’t get his mind off her long legs and it was having quite a strong effect on his southern region. He couldn’t let anyone see him like this. He sat behind his desk and scooted his chair under the desk as far as he could get it. Just then Margaret came into the room.

"Leo, ... um ... I’m sorry for yelling at you, well ... you sort of surprised me. Sorry. Its just it was so hot and ..."

"Margaret, I’m the one who’s sorry, I had no idea you were there, I was just ... I’m sorry".

"Leo, it’s ok, you just surprised me. Are you Ok? Your face is all flushed."

"I’m fine ... it’s the heat" He just didn’t tell her what type of heat it was. Thank God for his desk he thought.

"Ok, I’m going down to the mess, do you want something cold to drink?"

"Yeah, thanks that would be nice." In his mind he adds ‘and a bag of ice for my lap too please.’

It was soon after this incident that he decided he needed a diversion and started to pursue Jordan again. But now, he is not sure that he has the willpower or the desire to hide his feelings.

Margaret’s apartment:

5:00 am

Margaret hasn’t gotten any sleep once again. She lies in bed and tries not to think about the phone call she has to make. Her mind wanders back to her dream from last night. It had seemed so real. She has had several dreams and daydreams about Leo, even a few at work. One time she was experiencing one when Leo interrupted her.

Most of the senior staff and the President were on the campaign trail. Leo had stayed behind to run things, which meant, she had to stay behind too. It had been a very hot humid long day at work and tempers were short. She had been in and out of Leo’s office all day and was about ready to strangle him. She needed a break, so she went searching for an empty office. She had needed five minutes all to herself and she needed to get out of her pantyhose. She thought she had been successful in finding a safe spot, and started to pull them off. As she was doing this a thought popped into her head that Leo could be the one pulling down her hose at work.  If she hadn’t been daydreaming about this, she might have heard Leo’s distinctive footsteps coming down the hall. Her skirt was halfway up and the hose was halfway down when Leo came bounding to CJ’s office. At first she had yelled at him and then she apologized to him after she followed him back to his office. She could tell he was really embarrassed, so she changed the subject and offered to get him something to drink from the mess.

She can’t help but smile at the image of Leo turning red and be flustered. He is so cute when he is embarrassed. She rolls over and tries to get back to sleep. She doesn’t have any reason to get up for a while yet.

White House:

7:00 am

Donna hangs up the phone and just stares at it. What is she going to do now? That had been Margaret on the phone; she isn’t coming in to work again today. She is sure that this time she heard her crying while she was talking to her. What should she do? First things first, she calls the office pool and arranges for a temp for Leo. Once again, the only available one is Ms. Whitcome. Boy, won’t Leo be thrilled. But now her biggest problem is telling Leo that Margaret called in sick. Yesterday had been bad enough with all his questions and she is sure that Leo suspects that she knows more than she is telling. But she doesn’t know what going on with Margaret, she only knows that something has her upset and she has been very down lately.

Donna gets up from her desk and goes into Josh’s office. "Josh, I just got off the phone with Margaret. She won’t be coming in again today. I already called and got Leo a temp, could you tell him?"

"Why me?" Josh whined.

"Because you’re his deputy and besides I did it the last two days."  Donna is making her guilty face.

"Donna! Please tell me his temp isn’t Ms. Whitcome."

Donna nods her head. "Yes, she is the only one available, because of the holidays."

"Great, Leo will be very happy, I’m sure." Josh says sarcastically.

Donna starts to leave Josh’s office. "Donna , wait. Did Margaret say ... I mean ... do you know if it’s the flu?"

"Josh, she didn’t say. Listen... I’m not sure if ... ok, I’m just going to say it. I don’t think Margaret is sick. Something has been bothering her for some time now, but she won’t tell me what it is. I caught her crying at her desk a couple of times lately."

"Yeah, I’ve noticed too, that something hasn’t been right with her for a while."

 "Did you know that she didn’t make Leo do cards and gifts this year for Christmas?"

"You’re kidding! That’s like ... a huge tradition for them. Margaret has helped Leo with that since he got back from rehab when he was Labor Secretary." Josh stands up and walks over to Donna.

"Josh, I can’t help but feel that something bad is about to happen."

"Yeah, me too," Josh rests a hand on her shoulder. "Umm... I’m going to go tell Leo."

Josh finds Leo, as usual, hard at work behind his desk. He knocks and enters Leo’s office. "Good Morning, Leo."

Leo looks up from the file that he is pretending to read. "Hey Josh." He knows exactly what Josh is going to tell him. He can read Josh like an open book, no wonder he never wins on poker night.

"Donna just got a call from Margaret, seems she is still not well enough to come into work today." Josh wants to be anywhere but here right now.

"Did she tell Donna what is wrong?"

"No, Donna said that ... all Margaret said was she won’t be coming to work." Josh walks over to directly in front of Leo’s desk. "Leo, um ... did something happen between you two?"

Leo’s first thought goes back to last night and his dream about Margaret, there’s no way that Josh could know about that, ‘wait now’ he thinks to himself, Josh was referring to something here at work. He hopes his face didn’t register his shock. "Not that I am aware of."

"Ok."

"Josh, why would you ask that?"

"Um ... Donna said she’s caught Margaret crying a couple of times lately here in the office." Josh isn’t so sure that he should have told Leo this.

"Crying?" Leo takes his glasses off and pinches the bridge of his nose. He is shocked by what Josh has said. Margaret isn’t the crying type. A terrible though hits him; Margaret probably has a life threatening health problem. He practically jumps up out of his chair. "Josh, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make a phone call.

"Sure. Leo ... um ... I’m here all day if you need me." Josh turns to leave.

"Thanks, Josh."

Leo reaches for his phone and calls the number, which he now has memorized. He didn’t care that it is early. Anyway, she just called Donna, so she is probably still awake.

Margaret’s apartment:

7:00 am

Margaret has already made her phone call and is busy making coffee when her phone rings. She lets the machine get it again.

"Margaret, its Leo, if you’re there please pick up the phone... um ... when you can, please call me at work."

Well, now she is in trouble. What should she do? Should she call him back and pretend to be sick? Could she do that without losing it on the phone with him? She didn’t even make it through her conversation with Donna without crying, how does she think she’d be able to talk with Leo. No. The best thing to do is not call. He will know soon enough, when he gets my letter of resignation, sometime today.

White House:

9:00 am

Leo isn’t sure what he’s been doing these past two hours. To the people who walked by his office, he’s sure they think he busy read briefing books, but if asked, he couldn’t tell you a thing that he just read. He looks at his phone and wills it to ring.

Ms. Whitcome knocks on his door and enters. "Mr. McGarry, you have senior staff."

"Yeah, thanks." Leo slowly gets up and heads to the Oval Office. He doesn’t even remember to take any files with him.

Leo walks over to his normal place of honor and sits down. The rest of the staff is already there and are busy discussing their Christmas plans. The President enters the room and everyone stands, everyone that is, but Leo. He has no idea that the President is even in the room. Josh speaks up and tries to get Leo’s attention.

"Good Morning Mr. President."

Leo finally realizes that the President is standing right next to him. He pops up with alarming speed. He jumps up so fast that he loses his balance and Jed grabs him to keep him from falling.

"Leo, are you ok?" Jed isn’t sure if Leo realizes who has grabbed him.

"I’m fine, Sir. Um ... I must have of gotten up too fast." Leo pulls out of Jed grasp.

"Are you sure?"

"Sir, lets get this meeting started, I’m sure we all have plans for today."

"Yes, lets get this meeting over with; I promised Abbey that it would be a short day today." Jed sits down and motions for everyone else to take their seats.

As promised, the meeting is short. Jed spends the whole time keeping an eye on Leo. When the meeting breaks up, Jed asks Leo to stay behind. Leo gives him a look. Jed sits back down and so does Leo.

"Leo, I hear Margaret called in sick again today. Have you talked with her today?"

"No Sir, I was going to try again after staff." Leo looks down at his shoes.

"Leo, what’s going on? Did something happen between you and Margaret?"

Leo jerks his heads up quickly. "No, nothing .... I ...don’t know what is ..." He stops and just stares at Jed.

"Leo, I don’t want to pry, but Josh said something to me earlier about Margaret crying."

"Yeah, he told me the same thing. I left her a message again and this time I asked her to call back."

Jed looks at Leo and realizes just how worried he is about Margaret. "Leo, why don’t you go over and visit her this afternoon?"

Leo seems shocked by this suggestion. "Sir, I’m ... not sure if I should."

"Why?"

"I think she’s hiding something from me or is afraid to tell me something. Who knows what hear quirky mind is thinking."

Jed notices that Leo puts his hand to his forehead and rubs it like his does when he’s really upset about something. "Leo, do you have any idea?"

"The only thing that makes sense to me is that ... she’s got a serious health condition and is trying to hide it from me." 

"Leo, you need to talk her before you jump to any more  conclusions. You will be leaving early today and I want you to go see her."

"Sir, I don’t ..."

"Do I need to make it an order?" Jed was not going to back down.

"Sir?"

"Leo?"

"Yeah."

"You’ll go then?"

"Yeah." Leo gets up and slowly walks to his office.

Margaret’s apartment:

9:00 am

Margaret looks up the number for the courier service she plans to use. Normally, she wouldn’t need to look up that number, but today her memory isn’t working too well. She nervously dials the number. She tells the person her address and where she needs the item delivered. The service is very busy and won’t be able to pick up her letter until this afternoon, but they guarantee that I will be delivered by close of business, today. She hangs up the phone and falls onto her couch. She had been hoping the letter would be picked up this morning, but she figures it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that it will get delivered today. There’s no turning back now.

White House:

10:30 am

Leo is sitting on his couch, once again pretending to be reading, when he hears a soft knock on his door. He looks up and is surprised to see that it’s Zoey. She hasn’t come to visit his office since ... well since earlier this year. Even in his mind he can barely stand the thought of her kidnapping.

"Hey Leo."

"Hey kid."

"Do you have a minute?"

Leo stands up and goes over to her. "Of course, I’ve always got time for you."

Zoey walks up to him and they exchange kisses on the cheeks. They walk over to his couch and sit down.

"What’s up?" Leo asks.

"Leo, um... I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Zoey, is everything ok?" Leo inwardly berates himself, ‘what a stupid question to ask’.

"Yeah, I wanted to ... just tell you something. Last night I overhead Mom and Dad talking about you and they’re both concerned about you." Zoey looks down and stares at her hands in her lap.

Leo is surprised by the statement that Abbey was concerned about him. She’s not really said much more than hello to him since she got back. The last time he saw her was the other night when he interrupted their almost dinner and she had practically sneered at him. Thanks goodness, Jed doesn’t seem to notice that Abbey didn’t want anything to do with him.

"Why?" Zoey doesn’t look at him and he reaches over and places his hand on top of hers. "Zoey, are you ok?"

"Yes, Uncle Leo." She blushes at the fact that she calls him uncle. She hasn’t called him that since she was a young child. "I’m fine. They were saying something about you and Margaret."

Leo is shocked by this statement. "Margaret and me?"

"Leo, if there is one thing that I’ve learned from these past few months is that life can take some very unexpected turns and you should treat each day as a gift." Zoey takes Leo’s hand and holds it in both of hers. "If you love somebody, you shouldn’t be afraid of what others think. You should tell them."

Leo stares at her and wonders when he got so transparent. He prides himself on never showing his emotions. He decides since that’s no longer working for him, maybe it’s time to come clean. "Zoey, how ... how did you know?"

"I heard Dad and Mom discussing it last night. And as soon as I heard it, I couldn’t believe that I could have missed it. Its been there for years. Mom said she realized two years ago."

"Abbey knows!" He can’t help but think this isn’t good.

"Leo, it’s ok. I’d be more worried about my Dad." Zoey smiles at him.

Leo reaches over and pulls her into a hug. "Zoey, how are you really?"

"I’m fine."

"Boy, that statement sound familiar."

"It should." She laughs. "You use it enough!"

"Hey, you shouldn’t pick on an old man."

"Oh, Uncle Leo, you’re not old!"

"Yeah, well ... thanks Kid!"

"No problem, hey so you know if Charlie’s busy?" Zoey gives him a coy look.

"Zoey, I don’t know, he was in here a little bit ago. I think your dad sent him in here to check up on me."

"He’s good at that isn’t he."

"Yeah."

"And there’s yet another infamous Leo McGarry comment."

"You know, you’re getting more and more like your Dad, everyday!"

"Well, thanks. I think." Zoey stands and turns to leave. "Merry Christmas."

"Zoey." Leo walks over to her and gives her a big hug. "Thanks and Merry Christmas."

Margaret’s apartment:

10:30 am

Margaret is going through her clothes. She trying them on and seeing if there is anything that she can donate to Goodwill. She is about to try on another outfit, when the entry door buzzer rings. She goes to the intercom by the door.

"Who is it?"

"DC One Courier Service, I’m here to pick up a package from a Margaret McGuire."

Margaret presses the button to allow him into the building. Within seconds there is a knock on her door. She lets opens the door and hands him the envelope. It’s already addressed and ready to go. She pays him and he gives her a receipt and then he’s gone. It was just that easy. Easy? Nothing about this had been easy, she thinks.

She’s done it now. There can be no turning back. She wonders when the relief will set in’. Isn’t she suppose to start feeling better now? It’s part of her plan, so when does it take effect? She wanders back into her bedroom and falls onto her bed. The whole bed shakes from her sobs.

White House:

3:00 pm

Ms. Whitcome knocks and enters Leo’s office.

"Mr. McGarry, do you think we’ll get early departure today?"

Leo looks up at her from his favorite chair, the one that has his Navy blanket on display that sits in front of his window. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Ok, well I just have some last minute things to do." She gives Leo a frown. "Sorry to have bothered you." She said with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Ms. Whitcome, you seem to ..." Leo stops and thinks about Margaret.

"You were saying Sir?"

Leo stands up quickly. "Ms. Whitcome, in these past few days you have managed to alienate half my staff. And I don’t appreciate you running down Margaret. She is a very kind and compassionate person, who would go out of her way, to help anyone here in the White House. You may think her strange, but you could stand to take a few lessons on how to treat people, from this person who marches to the beat of a different drummer. Not everything, evolves around business. You are excused for the day." He sits in his chair and looks back down at the briefing book that is now back again on his lap. He refuses to look at her.

Ms. Whitcome finally takes the hint and leaves his office. He hopes that it is the last time she is every in here. Leo continues to feign reading the briefing book and doesn’t realize that he has a visitor standing in the main hall doorway of his office, she has been there since he started his outburst against Ms. Whitcome.

Leo’s visitor moves inside his office and walks over to him. Leo is so distracted; that he has no idea that anyone else is there. "Leo."

Leo jumps and the briefing book hits the floor. "Abbey?" Leo is very surprised to see her. She hasn’t come to his office since... well, not since June.

"Hey Leo, do you have a minute?"

Leo stands up and picks up the book he dropped and places it on his coffee table. "Yeah."  He motions for her to sit on the couch and he starts to get his suit coat to put on.

"Leo, I’m not the President, why don’t you just sit down."

Leo sits back down in his chair. He is suddenly very nervous to have her here. They haven’t said much more that hello, in months. "Ok."

Abbey sits down and looks over at Leo. She really hasn’t seen him much lately and she is shocked at how thin he looks. His eyes have dark circles under them and his face looks more tired than she thinks she’s ever seen. For the first time, she actually wonders about what Leo has been going through since this whole ordeal happened. She knows that Leo doesn’t spend as much time with Jed as he used to, but she knows that was her fault. She had told Leo that he was not welcome in the Residence. She had heard rumors that Leo’s grumpiness had reached new high levels lately and that, the only one who had a positive effect on him, was Margaret.

"Leo, I want to talk to you about something."

Leo looks at Abbey and knows what she is going to say. He’s sure that she is here to ask him to resign. He had been expecting this request from her ever since she got back from the farm. He really doesn’t blame her. She’s had every right to be upset with him; because it was his fault that Zoey had been kidnapped. He knew it and so did she. He had talked Jed into killing Shareef. It was his fault and Zoey had paid for it.

"Yeah." Leo looks her right in the eye and is ready for her request.

"I want to ask you about Margaret."

Leo is very surprised by what she has just said. He was sure she was here to ask him to leave. He knows his face shows his surprise. "What about her?"

"I just want to know why you haven’t told her how you feel about her?" Abbey has a sneaky little grin on her face.

"What!" Leo jumps up from his chair. "What are you talking about?"

"Leo, it’s as plain as the dark circle under your eyes, which by the way, we will get back to them."

Leo sits back down. "Abbey, I think that all that time at the farm has..." Leo doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence.

"Leo Thomas McGarry, don’t you try and lie to me. You are no better at it than Jed is."

"Abbey."

"Don’t Abbey me. You know perfectly well that you are in love with Margaret. I’ve known it for some time now, but I thought you would figure it out and do something about it by now."

"Abbey... it’s not that simple and besides... things really have not been slow around here." Leo gets up and starts pacing.

"Leo, you need to start thinking about yourself."

"Abbey, what would she want with me. I’m old and ..."

"Yeah, Yeah, Leo... When are you going to realize that you deserve happiness just as much as the next person does!" Abbey gets up and moves over to him.

"Abbey, she’s so young and beautiful, she can’t possible feel the same about me."

Abbey puts her hand on his shoulder. "Leo, give yourself a chance. She might surprise you."

Abbey starts to walk out Leo’s door. "Oh and Leo, we still need to settle things between us, but I think more importantly, right now, you need to figure out what you are going to say to Margaret when she comes back to work after Christmas."

"Abbey, I..."

Abbey puts her hand up to stop him, "and another thing, you are going to start taking better care of yourself. Leo, you are wasting away. How much sleep have you been getting? I’m surprised Margaret hasn’t been all over you, about that!"

Leo thinks back to last night and the image of Margaret legs all over him, is just about his undoing. He’s about to answer but Abbey is already out the door. He mutters to himself, "if you only knew."

Margaret’s apartment:

3:00 pm

Margaret is wrapped up in her down filled lap comforter and sitting in her wingback chair by her window and just staring out at the snow. She is wringing her hands in her lap. She is very nervous and wonders how Leo will react to her letter. She’s sure he will hit the roof. She is trying to play it out in her mind and no matter what she comes up with, it’s bad.

But, part of her dreams that he will get her letter and realize that he can’t live without her and come rushing to her. "God Margaret, get a grip. Like Leo McGarry would ever do that!" She says out loud. Then she stops and thinks,  ‘I sure have been talking to myself a lot lately, I’ve got to stop that’.

She continues to stare out the window. She’s waiting to get her confirmation call from the courier service. She realizes even once they call, it will still be a couple of hours before Leo gets the letter. His mail is checked by the Secret Service.

The silence in her apartment is broken by the ringing of her phone. The machine picks up. It’s the courier service with her confirmation of delivery. They thank her for choosing them and wish her a Merry Christmas. Tears of hopelessness are falling freely down her face and she can’t help but think her life is over.

White House:

6:00 pm

Leo is in his office sitting on the couch, He has been shut up inside his office ever since Abbey left. He has been trying to come up with a plan to tell Margaret how he feels. He has finally admitted to himself that he is in love with her and he is going to do something about it. He is still very concerned about her health. He’s convinced that something is really wrong with her. He has decided that he is going over to her apartment on his way home. As a matter of fact, he is going to leave right now. He gets up and starts to gather his things together. There is a knock on the door.

"Come in."

A young intern that he has seen around lately enters the room. "Mr. McGarry, I have a letter for you. It was delivered by courier this afternoon."

"Thank you." Leo takes the package from the intern and walks over to his desk. He is about to lay it down and leave, when he realizes that it’s Margaret’s handwriting on the package. He opens it up and finds a letter.

Memorandum

To:         Leo McGarry

                        White House Chief of Staff

From:      Margaret McGuire **[](http://www.irishsurnames.com/cgi-bin/gallery.pl?name=maguire&capname=Maguire&letter=m&user=iis&item=ss%20)**

                        Lead Assistant to Chief of Staff

          Date:     12/24/2003

Subject:  Resignation

It is with deep regret that I must tender my resignation from service at the White House effective immediately. It has been a pleasure and honor to serve you all these years. It is with immense sorrow that I am unable to fulfill the normal requirement of giving two weeks notice, but circumstances preclude me from fulfilling that obligation. Arrangements will be made for the collection of my personal items at a later date.

Respectfully,

Margaret McGuire

Leo’s hand starts to shake. Margaret is resigning. She’s leaving me! He starts to feel lightheaded. He grabs a hold of the desk. The paper falls from his hand and floats to the floor. Leo watches it fall. It seems to be falling in slow motion. Leo follows it down to the floor.

The President is in the Oval is ready to call it a night. Abbey has already been by once to remind him that it is Christmas Eve. He knows that she stopped by and talked with Leo this afternoon. They both think that he is unaware of the rift between them. He’s glad that Abbey and Leo talked this afternoon. Abbey didn’t say what they talked about, maybe Leo will tell him. Anyway, he needs to tell Leo goodnight. Jed heads through the connecting door. Just as he is entering Leo office, he sees Leo standing in front of his desk. He is startled by how pale Leo appears. He is about to say something, when Leo drops the paper and collapses.

"LEO!" Jed shouts as he runs to his side. He bends down and checks for a pulse. "Charlie!"

Charlie comes running into the room. The President’s shout conveyed the urgency of the situation. "Mr. President?"

"Call Abbey!"

Charlie rushes to the phone and calls the Residence.

Jed is crouched down by Leo and is trying to get him to come around. "Leo, Leo.. Can you hear me?"

Leo lets out a moan and starts to move a little. Abbey flies into the room. "Jed, what happened to him?"

"Abbey, I was walking in and he was in front of his desk and he looked really pale and the next thing I knew, he hit the floor."

Abbey is now by Leo’s side.  "Leo." She reaches into her bag and gets her stereoscope. She is about to listen to his heart, when he starts to come around.

"What’s... going on?" Leo tries to sit up.

Abbey holds him down. "Leo, it looks like you passed out."

Leo stares at Abbey and then he remembers. Margaret’s letter. He tries to sit up again and this time Abbey lets him. He finds the letter on the floor next to him and hands it to Jed.

"Leo, why would she do this?" Jed hands the letter to Abbey.

Leo is trying to regain his composure, but is failing miserable. "She’s resigning."

"Why?" Abbey asks.

Leo gets up off the floor. He is a little wobbly at first, but makes it up. "Margaret is leaving me. First Jenny and now Margaret. Its my fault, I drive away everyone!"

"Leo that’s not true." Abbey goes over to him.

"Yes, Yes it is, you should know that too. You don’t even want to be around me either. I’m ... I’m." Leo is having trouble catching his breathe.

"Leo, you need to calm down, before you pass out again. Come over here and sit on the couch." Abbey leads him to the couch. Jed moves over and sits next to Leo.

"Jed, Abbey. I’m scared. I can’t make it... without her and I don’t just mean here at work. I ... I love her."  Tears have overflowed from his eyes and are running down his face, is chest is heaving and he is trying to get air into his lungs.

"Leo, first you need to calm down. Take some slow deep breathes. You’re going to hyperventilate."

Leo starts to breath deeper and is starting to calm down a little. "Jed, I need to go see her. I need to find out what’s going on? I’m so afraid she is ..." Leo stops and tries to breathe deeply.

"Leo I’ll get you a car as soon as you calm down." Jed says.

Leo shakes his head. "Ok."

A couple of minutes pass and Leo has regained his color and is breathing normally. He is still sitting on the couch between Jed and Abbey. "I’m feeling better now. I need to go find Margaret and talk to her. I know one thing for sure, if her resignation stands, then you’ll need to get a new Chief of Staff, I can’t do this without her. I love her because she completes me, she makes me the kind of man I want to be, she the reason I wake up and breath air, she is the other half of my heart. I won’t and can’t stay if she leaves." Leo stands and puts on his coat.

"Leo, Charlie got Margaret’s address for you and your car is waiting at the Northwest door."

Leo heads out the door.

Jed and Abbey are left alone in Leo’s office. "Jed, I’ve never seen Leo like this before. I think he’s serious about leaving, if Margaret goes."

Jed looks at Abbey an says very softly "I know he will." He reaches down and takes a hold of her hand and leads her out the door and to the Residence.

Margaret’s apartment:

6:00 pm

Margaret is now in her bedroom cleaning out her closet. She has the scarf wrapped around her neck that she had knitted. The scarf that was suppose to be Leo’s Christmas present. It makes her feel better just by wearing it. And right now she can use all the comfort she can get. It’s been a few hours since she received confirmation that her letter had been delivered. She is pretty sure that Leo has already read it or will within the next hour. The secret service is very thorough and efficient. It normally only takes a couple of hours for a package to make it to its owner, if there is a special code written on the package and of course she knows that code by heart.

Margaret is in the process of trying on old clothes to see what still fits or what may be out of style. Whatever doesn’t fit or is out of style is marked to go to Goodwill. She has already gone through her shoes and thrown out what she no longer wants. She comes across the two gowns that she wore to the Inaugural Balls from the first and the second elections. She decides to keep them, even though she will probably never have another reason to wear either of them. The last outfit she pulls out is the green suit that she wore for almost forty-eight hours in a row this past June. She had put this suit in the back of her closet for a reason. This was the suit she had on when Zoey was kidnapped. She almost thrown it away and she probably would have except for the fact that she knew that Leo loved this suit. Whenever she wore it, he always had some nice comment about it.

Margaret puts the suit back in the closet and stare at the large boxes on her top shelves. She needs to get them down and go through them. She is about to start getting them down when she realizes that she hasn’t had anything to eat today. Her stomach is starting to protest this fact, so she decides to make herself a sandwich. She’s putting together her sandwich, when her phone starts ringing. She does answer it and her machine doesn’t pick up because she decided to turn it off after she received the message from the courier service. She’s sure that this call is from Leo. She listen to the phone ring and ring, after what have been fifteen rings it stops. Margaret sits down at her table and starts to eat.

Margaret’s apartment:

7:30 pm

Leo is out the door of the car the second the driver stops the car in front of Margaret’s apartment building. Leo is a little surprised of the neighborhood that she lives in. He goes to the door and tries to open it. It’s locked. He notices an intercom by the door and presses. He can’t help but think to himself ‘See Ms. Whitcome, I do know how to use an intercom’. He waits for Margaret to answer. After a couple of minutes, he presses it again. Still no answer. Leo is starting to get worried. It’s Christmas Eve, she should be home.

Margaret hears the buzzer for the door and ignores it. She is not expecting anyone and she’s sure it’s the neighborhood kids goofing off again. She goes back to pulling boxes off her top shelf in her closet.

Leo gets out his cell phone and starts to call her. But, before he dials her number, someone come up to the door and uses their key and gets in. Leo grabs the door before it shuts and heads for Margaret’s apartment. Thanks goodness Charlie looked up her address for him. He had no idea where she lived. He finds her apartment on the second floor and is about to knock on her door when he hears a loud noise from inside her apartment. He pounds on the door. She doesn’t answer. He yells for her. She doesn’t come to the door. Leo runs down the stairs and to the super’s office. He starts pounding on the door.

A fat man with three-day-old bread and a can of beer in his hand answers the door. "Yeah, what do you want?"

"I’m Leo McGarry, White House Chief of Staff, my assistant lives here in your building and I think something is wrong and I need to check on her. I need your pass key!" He pulls out his wallet and shows him his id.

The super just stands there and stares at him. "How do I know that’s not fake?"

Leo’s patience is gone. "If you don’t hand over that pass key now, I’ll make sure that the proper authorities are notify of all the code violations I’ve seen so far in my short time here in this building. Now, give me that key!" Leo sticks his hand out.

The super digs in his pocket and hands over the key to Leo. Leo takes the key and runs back up to Margaret’s apartment. He knocks again, but there is still no answer. He uses the key and lets himself into her apartment.

Once he enters hears her sobs coming from the back of the apartment. He rushes to the room where the sound is coming from and finds Margaret sitting on the floor with clothes, shoes and boxes surrounding her. She is sobbing so hard, she isn’t even aware that Leo is here in her bedroom.

"Margaret." He says as he rushes to her side.

She looks up and is shocked to see Leo crouching down next to her. "Leo, what ... how...?"

"Margaret are you ok, I was in the hall and heard this loud noise." Leo has taken a hold of her shoulders with his hands.

"I was cleaning my closet and the boxes fell."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I don’t think so." Then it finally hits her. Leo is in her apartment. He is in her bedroom. She resigned. She looks at him with a puzzled face. "What are you doing here? How did you get in here?"

Leo decides it’s now or never. He has to tell her how he feels. "Margaret... I have something to .... I mean I need... that is ... Oh hell, Margaret I love you!"

At first Margaret doesn’t react to what Leo has just said, she gazes at him too stunned to reply, the tears are still flowing as she absorbs what he has just said. She has waited years to hear him say those three words, but she never thought he would. She reaches out and touches his face. "Oh Leo, I love you too!"

At first, Leo just stares at her. ‘Did she just say she loves me too’? He thinks to himself. He slowly realizes it’s true. Her hand is on his face. He leans over and brushes a gentle kiss on her lips. He pulls back and looks at her. She is smiling. He leans in again and this time presses his lips against hers for a more passionate kiss.

"Oh, Margaret." I’ve missed you so much these past few days. I have been worried out of my head about you." Then it hits him. The thought of her being seriously ill rushes back. "Margaret, what’s going on? Whatever is wrong, I will be by your side. Please let me help you through this, I love you and whatever health issue you have, I want to be there for you." Tears are starting to flow from Leo’s eyes at the thought that Margaret might be gravely ill.

Margaret takes Leo’s face in her hands and wipes away his tears. "Oh Leo, there is nothing wrong with me, that your love won't cure. I was leaving because I was heartsick over being in love with you and I didn’t think you could ever love me in return. There's nothing wrong with me baby, please don't cry!"


	4. Christmas Without You 4

**Christmas Without You**

**by:[ AdoreLeo](mailto:rockfordfilesfan@aol.com)**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

Dec 25, 2003

Margaret’s Bedroom:

6:00 am

Leo wakes up early in a low-lit room. His face buried in red hair and his arms wrapped around someone. At first, he is unsure of where he is, but after one intake of breath, the sweet scent from the hair causes the memories from last night, to come flooding back. He smiles at the images that are rushing through his mind. He sighs and pulls her closer to him. He still can’t still believe he is here, in her arms and in her bed. He is with his Margaret.

Leo reflects about those first few moments they shared, after they confessed their love for one another last night. After Margaret told him that she wasn’t sick, they were holding on one another when he started to shake.

"Leo, are you ok? You’re trembling."

"I’m fine."

"You’re not fine! What’s going on?" She holds onto him even tighter.

"It’s really ok. It’s just... it’s probably just adrenaline, I guess. Leo buries his face in her soft hair and tries to slow down his breathing.

"Ok, but why?" She whispers back, her voice still full of concern.

"Um... when I got your letter, I was scared that you were quitting because of a serious health problem. So I rushed over here, I was standing outside your door and heard this loud sound from inside your apartment. I knocked and called out to you and when you didn’t answer, I ran down to your super and managed to scare him enough to get the passkey. I found you here on the floor and my first thought was that you were hurt. But mostly, it’s probably some lingering side effects from when... I passed out earlier tonight." Leo cringed at the thought of her up and coming outburst.

"What? You passed out! When? Where? Are you alright?" She rapidly fires off questions as she pulls from his arms and starts looking him over for any sign of injury.

"Margaret, I’m fine. Really. I just... sort of passed out after reading your letter of resignation. Which by the way, you are taking back. Right?" Leo looks at Margaret with his impish grin plastered over his face. He’s trying to lighten up the situation a little bit. He doesn’t want her getting upset and crying again. It hurts him so much to see her like that.

"Leo, tell me what happened!" Once Margaret gets a hold of something, she doesn’t let go until she is satisfied.

"Ok, I was, of course, in my office when I got your letter. I had been really worried and upset about you being gone from work for three days and combined with the fact that I couldn’t get a hold of you of you during that time. Also, I finally figured out, with some help from Zoey this morning, that I had to tell you I loved you." Leo stops and takes a breath and lets everything he just said sink into her worried little head. "So, when I read your letter, I guess it was just too much for me to handle and I passed out."

"Oh Leo, you could have really hurt yourself." The unshed tears in her eyes are threatening to fall.

"Margaret, stop. Nothing happened. I guess the President was coming into my office to see me and say goodnight. He saw me fall and called for Abbey. She checked me over and declared me to be ok."

Margaret raises an eyebrow at the mention of the First Lady’s name. She doesn’t know exactly what happened between the two of them, since Zoey’s kidnapping, but she was pretty sure that Abbey blamed Leo for her daughter’s kidnapping. She slightly lowers her head and starts to cry. Leo can tell by the look on her face that she fells terribly guilty. "Oh Leo, I’m so sorry I scared you."

He reaches over and gently lifts her chin up with his finger. "Margaret, I suspect that there have been enough tears shed these past few days between the two of us."

Margaret is a little surprised that at Leo’s statement but she nods in agreement and whispers. "Yeah?"

Leo smiles at her use of one of his favorite terms. He echoes back. "Yeah!" Then he pulls her into arms and presses his mouth to hers.

`Margaret can’t believe how good it feels to have their mouths fused together. The intense fervor that is being exchanged, comes from years of pent up emotions and from working together so closely. She lifts a hand to the back of his head, and is enjoying the fine, soft texture of his hair. She drops her fingers to the base of his neck and lets them linger there. She then pulls his face even closer to hers and parts her lips, encouraging him to deepen the kiss. He responds by pushing his tongue deeply into her mouth. Their minds stop processing all coherent thoughts as their tongues eagerly duel with one another.`

`The kiss sent jolts through Leo’s body. He knows they need to come up for air soon, but he doesn’t want this exceedingly gratifying feeling to end anytime soon. Margaret moves closer to him and slightly rubs her body against him, causing him moan loudly into her mouth. He slowly pulled his lips from hers and stares intently into her eyes. He wants to see if her face is conveying the same desire that he is experiencing. One look at her face and her passion filled eyes and swollen lips and he knew that she does.`

The break from their passionate kissing was adorable; it was just a brief separation where their faces lingered just inches from one another, while they repeatedly exchanged brief soft shallow kisses. It isn’t long before Margaret’s arms wrap around Leo and they begin to further explore each other's mouths. Their hands begin to wander over each other’s bodies. His hands move to her neck and shoulder, and then he moves a hand inside her shirt and traces his fingertips along her collarbone. Her skin is so soft and smooth under his touch and her lips are like velvet. He will always remember this first time that he touched her and the way her lips tasted. He pulls back and looks into her eyes for consent and then proceeds to unbutton her shirt. She starts to unbutton his too. They pressed their bodies together, wanting to feel skin against skin.

 

Leo’s mind comes back to the present; he smiles at this recent memory and places a delicate kiss on the back of Margaret’s neck. She sighs in her sleep at his touch and scoots over even closer to him. He holds her tight as he drifts off back to sleep, once again thinking about last night and how after several minutes of kissing and exploring each other’s bodies, she had taken him by the hand and led him to her bed where they made beautiful and fiery love together. They had lain there for several minutes afterwards, trying to catch their breath, tenderly caressing one another. The talked quietly for a short time, sharing each other’s feelings and then they wrapped themselves up in each other’s arms and drifted off into peaceful sleep. 

Margaret’s Bedroom:

7:00 am

Margaret awakens and feels soft even breathing on the back her neck. She smiles at the knowledge of whom it belongs to. The man she has loved for so long, from afar, is in her bed with his arms tightly and protectively wrapped around her. Leo is in her bed. She moves her hand behind her and lightly brushes it against his hip. A small twinge of pain instantly registers in her mind. She thinks back to the cause of her pain. During the past few days, Margaret had been experiencing several brain-dead moments while she had been obsessing about leaving work and Leo behind.

 

On the first day that she called in sick, she needed to wash the dirty dishes from the weekend and the ones she used while making cheesecake. She loaded up her dishwasher and added soap. Only she added liquid dish soap instead of dishwasher soap. Later, when she came back into the kitchen, there were soapsuds and bubbles all over her floor.

She had managed to lock herself out of her apartment two days in a row, while she was going downstairs to get her mail. Both times her had to go to her super and have him let her back into her apartment. The most embarrassing part of that whole ordeal was the fact that both times she was only dressed in her fluffy housecoat and her Tweety Bird slippers.

She was making a baked potato in her microwave and forgot to poke holes into it. It exploded all over the inside of her microwave. Not only did she have a huge mess to clean up, the sound of it bursting had scared her half to death.

The pain from her hand came from a burn she received while cooking soup. She had put the soup on the top burner of her electric stove and promptly started daydreaming about Leo. She wasn’t paying any attention to her soup and it started to boil over. She grabbed the pan quickly, causing to spill out of the pan. Some of the hot soup splattered onto her hand. It wasn’t a severe burn, but it did blister. When the soup spilled onto the burner it started to smoke and that set off her fire alarm. She finally managed to shut off the fire alarm, but not before the super had been notified and came pounding on her door. If she didn’t watch it, he was going to evict her for causing so much trouble lately. She couldn’t afford to lose her apartment and her job in the same week.

The fire alarm incident brought back a sweet memory about Leo, when Sam and Josh had set off the smoke alarm in the White House, Margaret had been down in the basement looking through some old files. Leo had come looking for her to make sure that she got out of the White House safely.

Margaret’s mind comes back to the present. She is still lying there next to him in her bed, she once again thinks about the fire alarm episode at the White House and it makes her grin. When Leo had found her that day, he had grumbled something about not wanted to have to retrain a new assistant, but now she realizes that he had come looking for her because he loved her and he wanted to make sure she was safe. She sighs while she reflects back on their love making last night. Leo had been so strong and gentle just like she had always envisioned. One thing’s for certain though, he’s just as passionate about his lovemaking, as he is about his role as Chief of Staff. She snuggles further into to Leo arms and drifts off, back to sleep.

 

Margaret’s Bedroom:

8:00 am

Leo is awake and red hair once again blinds him. He gently brushes the hair off his face and hears a sigh come from Margaret. She is also awake and she rolls over to face Leo.

"Good morning." She nervously whispers as she raises her head slightly and looks at the clock. "This must be a new record for you, sleeping in until eight in the morning."

"Yeah." Leo leans in and gives her a kiss on the lips; he wants to reassure her that he is exactly where he wants to be and that he doesn’t regret what happened between them last night. "I have good reason to stay in bed this morning." Leo gives her an impish grin while running his hand up and down her arm.

Margaret clearly seems relieved by his statement. "Oh, and what is that Mr. McGarry". She smiles and places her hand on his bare chest.

"Oh, I think I can come up with something." He laughs.

"Leo! You are so bad. But I love what you have come up with."  She wraps her arms around him as she rolls on top of him as he takes her to places that she had only imagined until last night.

Margaret’s Bedroom:

9:00 am

They are once again lying in each other arms and waiting for the hearts to stop racing. They are holding on to each other so tight. It’s almost like they are afraid that it has all been a dream and if they break contact, it will all fade away. They sigh almost at the same time, which makes them laugh.

"Margaret, honey," Leo asks as he is running his fingertips through her hair.

"Yeah Baby," Margaret is has her hands resting on his bare chest. She loves playing with his sandy blonde chest hair.

"I have something to tell ya." He whispers in her ear.

"Oh, yeah?" It drives her crazy when Leo’s mouth is right next to her ear, ever so slightly breathing into it.

"Merry Christmas!"

Margaret bolts up in bed. "Oh no, I can’t believe I forgot its Christmas! I forgot to go to Midnight Mass last night. Oh no, what time it?" She looks at her alarm clock and notices the time. "I volunteered to help serve Christmas breakfast at the Monroe St. Shelter. I should have been there 2 hours ago!" Margaret starts to get out of bed.

"Margaret, calm down." Leo chortles as he is rising up to sit next to her and gently grabs her arm to keep her in bed. "It’s ok, I’m sure they have enough people at the shelter this morning. If I remember correctly, last year you told me that there were so many volunteers, that you were practically tripping over one another."

Margaret stares at him in disbelief. "You actually remember me telling you that."

"Yeah." Leo responds shyly.

Margaret can’t believe that he remembers that. She always thought that Leo never listened to a word she said. Especially when it came to things of a personal nature. The fact that he remembered this small detail from a year ago makes her wonder just how long he has been in love with her. "Leo, just how long have you been in love with me?" Margaret reaches over and takes one of his hands in hers.

Leo looks down at their joined hands and whispers. "I’ve loved you since the first time you found me hung-over in my office at the Labor Dept and took care of me." He lowers his head.

"You mean you’ve been in love with me since then, while you were still married to Jenny!" Margaret is surprised by his answer.

Leo looks up at Margaret and smiles. "No, I said I’ve loved you since then. The falling in love part happened almost three years ago."

"Really?"

"Yeah"

Margaret is shocked to find out that he has been in love with her for almost three years. That’s almost as long as she has been in love with him. She squeezes his hand and pushes him further for an answer. "When did you realize?"

Leo looks at Margaret and reaches out and cups her face with his hand. "The day received my divorce papers."

"Really?" Margaret smiles at the memory of that day. She had been running around all day mentioning the fact, to most of the staff who didn’t make the trip to Portland trip, that the divorce papers came that day and that she was afraid that he was going to drink.

"Yeah."  Leo smiles at the memory of Margaret barging into his office that morning and saying ‘Can I just say that, all I meant before was that, if I was married and got divorced and my divorce papers came and I was an alcoholic, I would want to be...

"Oh."  Margaret smile grows wider.

"Yeah. Um... Do you remember that evening when I told you were a good girl?"

"Yes." Margaret nods her head. That term always meant so much to her whenever Leo used it towards her.

"I really wanted to tell you how much you meant to me and ... but I couldn’t. I was scared." Leo looks away from her. He’s still leery to open up to her. He’s still afraid of getting hurt again.

Margaret realizes just how much this has cost Leo to be so open and honest with her. She reaches out with her fingertips and pulls his face back until he is looking directly into her eyes. "Leo, you need never be afraid to tell me anything, you know that I will always be by your side through everything from now on. I could never turn away from you, especially now, you truly are my destiny."

Leo looks at Margaret, the morning light from her bedroom window hits her red hair and appears to create a halo as she looks back and smiles at him and only him. He realizes that she would never hurt him on purpose and that she truly is his destiny also. "Margaret, words just don’t seem enough to tell you how I feel right now. Will you marry me? I love you."

"What?" Margaret jumps up off the bed.

"I said, words aren’t enough..." Leo looks up at her standing next to him.

She interrupts him. "No, after that."

"I said I loved you." Leo is really enjoying messing with her.

"No, before that."

Leo stands up and takes her in his arms. "Oh that. I said, Margaret would you do me the great honor in marrying me?"

Now its Margaret’s turn to have some fun at Leo’s expense. "Yeah, that’s what I thought you said. Do you want to hear a joke?"

"NO!"

"Ok."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Oh, Merciful God."

"Yes Leo, yes I’ll marry you!" Margaret presses her lips against Leo’s and savors the moment. She pulls away after a few seconds and tells him. "Oh, and Leo. Merry Christmas to you too."

They stand there for a while with their arms wrapped around one another. Just living in the moment. It is a moment that neither one of them ever thought would happen. After a few minutes, Leo pulls away from Margaret and gives her a look.

"So Margaret, are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I just remembered I never had dinner last night. And I bet you didn’t either." Margaret walks over to her bedroom chair and grabs her housecoat and heads for the bathroom. She can’t believe that Leo asked her if she was hungry. But then she smiles at what might be the reason behind his hunger.

"No, you’re right. But that’s all your fault." Leo says with a huge grin on his face. He’s getting married. Margaret said yes. He can’t believe how hungry he is. He must have burned a lot of calories these past few hours.

Margaret comes back into the bedroom. "I think I have some eggs, or I could make you some pancakes?"

"Either is fine with me. Do you have any tomato juice?" Leo says as he pulls on his boxers and heads for the bathroom.

She smiles when he requests his favorite breakfast drink. "I think I have a can of it somewhere, but I’m not sure if the date is good." She says to his back. She doesn’t even like tomato juice but for some reason she buys it every so often. Half the time she doesn’t even realize that she has bought it until she is at home putting away her groceries. Somewhere in the back in her mind, she must have hoped she would have reason to have some on hand someday.

Margaret is standing with her back to the door making coffee when he joins her in the kitchen. He walks over to her and wraps his arms around her. She turns in his arms and lays her head on his shoulder.

"Oh Leo, you don’t know how long I’ve dreamed about this moment happening. I still can’t believe it." She sighs.

"Hey, I’ve got a question for you."

"Ok."

"When did you realize, that you loved me?" Leo says with a lopsided grin on his face.

Margaret gets kind of a sad look on her face. Most of her memories from that day are bad.

Leo gets worried. "Margaret what’s wrong?"

"Nothing, it’s just... it was probably one of the worst days of your life. It was the night of the Town Hall Meeting in Roslyn."

"Yeah." Leo realizes what she means.

"Leo, I was so scared that night, all I could picture in my mind, was you lying there in a pool of blood." Margaret starts to cry at the thought of this memory.

Leo’s own mind races back to that horrible night. That was the night that he almost lost two of the most important people in his life, his best friend and the man that he loved like a son. Leo shakes away those images from his mind. "Honey, it’s ok. Shh... Let’s not have any more tears. Come here."  But Leo is unable to follow his own advice; soon tears are flowing freely down his face too. He pulls her into a tight hug and they stand there slightly swaying in the middle of her kitchen, allowing each of them to comfort the other the way they couldn’t three years ago.  That night should have taught them how fragile life is and not to waste a moment of it but now three years later that lesson has been learned and they will be there for each other from now on.


	5. Christmas Without You 5

**Christmas Without You**

**by:[ AdoreLeo](mailto:rockfordfilesfan@aol.com)**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

Dec 25, 2003

Margaret’s Apartment:

9:30 am

Leo is more than happy to stand here, holding Margaret for the rest of the morning, but he thinks it’s time to figure out a few things about their relationship. After all, they are getting married now. He pulls slightly back out of her arms and reaches over to wipe away her tears. "Margaret, why don’t you start fixing breakfast and then you and I can sit down and have a little talk?"

"Talk about what?" Margaret gets a worried look on her face.

"Would you stop worrying." Leo teases.

"Hey, haven’t you heard. I worry if the sun is gonna rise." She has a cute little knowing smile on her lips.

"Yeah?" He smirks back. "That does sound familiar."

"It should, you said it."

"Yeah, well Donna is a busy body, who apparently can’t keep her mouth shut." Leo smiles at the memory of their conversation about Margaret, who was worrying about him drinking, on the day that his divorce papers arrived some three years ago.

"Leo," she says as she moves over to the refrigerator and starts to pull out the things she needs to make their breakfast. "What do we need to talk about?" She can think of at least a hundred different things, but right now she is only interested in what Leo has to say.

"Well, first of all, you still have one question left unanswered." 

"Leo, I said I would marry you." She giggles, as she mixes up the pancake batter.

"Yes you did, but last night I asked if you were coming back to work for me and you didn’t respond." Leo is very happy that she said yes, to marrying him, but he’s a little nervous about whether or not she is coming back to work for him. Judging by the look on her face, he has every reason to be concerned.

"Leo, do you think that’s wise?" She replies, while biting her bottom lip.

"What do you mean?"

"What about the press? Won’t they have a field day with it? Won’t it cause problems for the White House if I continue to work for you? She stops stirring the batter and hastily puts it on the counter.

"Margaret, don’t worry about it. The press won’t care if you are working for me or not. They’ll still try to make a big deal out of it, so you might as well continue to work for me."  Leo moves towards Margaret and reaches out for her.

Margaret backs away from Leo. "Our relationship is going to cause all kinds of trouble for this administration and for you. I can just see the headlines. ‘White House Chief, Staffs his Assistant’." She starts to tremble. "Leo, what is Mallory going to say? Won’t everyone assume that I’m the reason you got divorced?" She intently stares at Leo, as she absent-mindedly wipes her worried forehead with her hand and leaves behind a trail of pancake mix. "Leo, maybe we should rethink this, I refuse to be the cause of any political or personal problems for you. I’ve spent most of my life protecting you; I won’t be the who that takes you down." Tears of sorrow are flowing down her face. Just a mere few minutes ago, she was on top of the world. Now she feels like she has lost the one thing she wants, no needs, most of all.

"NO!" Leo grabs Margaret by the shoulders. "I won’t lose you after only just finding you! I love you. I’ll quit before I let you go. Don’t you understand? It all means nothing if you aren’t by my side. Nothing!" Leo pulls Margaret into a fierce hug. Tears are soaking her shoulder and he too is trembling now. "Honey, I love you, nothing else matters now. I need you, please tell me that you will still marry me." Leo leans out of their hug and places his forehead against hers. "Please, Baby."

"Oh Leo, I do love you so. I want more than anything to be your wife. But...its just that..."

Leo pulls his head away from her forehead and interrupts her. "But nothing, listen to me! We are getting married. I refuse to lose my happiness again. This job has cost me so much, but I won’t let it cause me to lose you." He reaches up and wipes the pancake mix from her brow and softly says. "Margaret, will you still marry me?"

"Oh Leo, yes I’ll still marry you. I’m sorry I ..."

"Stop, you have nothing to be sorry about, except that I may starve to death soon if you don’t fix me some breakfast soon."

Margaret bobs her head, then smiles and goes back to fixing breakfast. "Do you want eggs too?"

"Yes please, I like mine..." Leo doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence.

"Leo, after all these years, I know how you like your eggs. Hey, do you know why the French only eat one egg for breakfast?"

"Margaret!"

"Ok, so I guess I’ve told that joke one too many times."

"Yeah."

"Ok, I’ll go back to fixing breakfast."

 

"Would you please?" Leo smirks back.

Margaret turns her back to Leo and starts fixing the eggs. But she can’t help but finish the joke. "Cause in France, one egg is an oeuf." She murmurs.

 "I heard that!" Leo says, standing in the doorway. "Hey, do you think I have time for a quick shower?"

"Sure, there are towels in the little closet in the bathroom. Do you need any help?" She asks wishfully.

"No thanks, I think I’ve had all the help that I can stand for a while." Leo heads off to the bathroom and mutters to himself  ‘three times in the last twelve hours, she’s going to kill me, but oh what a way to go.’ He has a huge grin on his face as he steps into the shower.

After his shower, Leo heads back to the kitchen. He is dressed only in his pants and undershirt. Margaret has breakfast ready and the table set when he enters the room.

 

"Perfect timing, I just finished setting the table."

Leo walks over to the table and sits down. "It smells wonderful, I could get used to this."

"Well, I wouldn’t mind that."

Margaret sits down and they start eating their breakfast. They both are enjoying this time together. They discuss each other’s family Christmas morning traditions. After they are done eating, Leo helps to clear the table.

"Margaret, why don’t you take a shower and I can wash the dishes?"

"Just rise them off and put them in the dishwasher." Margaret can’t help but smile at what happened the last time she used her dishwasher. She heads off to the bathroom. Her smile grows larger when she thinks about these past few hours and the things that they have done here.

Margaret walks past the bay window in her bedroom and stops, remembering waking up last night, just before midnight and finding Leo missing from her bed. He was standing, only in his boxers, in front of the bay window. She got up, put her robe on and wrapped her arms around him.

"Leo what ya doing?"

"Watching the falling snow and thinking." Leo’s voice was just a little bit above a whisper and full of emotion.

Margaret turns him around in her arms and sees unshed tears in his eyes. "Honey, what’s wrong? Do you regret what we did?" Margaret’s voice is filled with panic.

"No, Honey. I don’t regret it. I love you."

"Then what’s wrong?"

"I ... was just thinking about some of the mistakes I’ve made over the past few years."

"What mistakes, Baby."

Leo lowers his head and whispers. "Mostly thinking about... Jenny. I wasn’t a very good husband to her. I widowed her the second I took over the campaign and I put my role as Chief of Staff first. Do you know what I told her the night before she left me?"

Margaret shakes her head and whispers. "No."

"I told her that my job was the most important thing I would ever do and that right then for these few years it was more important than my marriage."

"Oh Leo." Margaret has never heard about what happened the night that Jenny left him. He has never talked about his marriage or its breakup before now.

"Margaret, I don’t want to hurt you like I hurt Jenny. You’ve always understood me so much better than anyone else and I really don’t want to mess up what we have only just begun."

"Leo, I’m not Jenny. I’m right beside you both here and at the office, I realize how important your job is to you. You need to trust me. We need to trust each other. We aren’t the same couple that you and Jenny were. I love you!"

"You know, a while back the President said to me ‘Be subject to one another, Leo. What can I do to be of subject to you?’ and I told him I’m fine, I’ve got Margaret." He never realized how true that statement was, not until tonight. Leo lightly brushed his fingertips along the side of her face.

She starts applying soft kisses to his neck and lifts a hand to the back of his head pulls him closer. He responds by kissing her neck and moving his hands to her backside and pulling her body into his. Then he turns them both around and gently pushes her down on the bay window seat. He opens up her robe and begins to explore her breasts. She pulls his boxers down and traces her fingers tips over his inner thighs. He pushes her back further and she wraps her long legs around his waist as he makes love to her on the window seat.

These thoughts from last night have Margaret about ready to call and see if Leo would like to take another shower this morning, only this time with her. But she decides against it and heads off to the bathroom and muttering to herself  ‘three times in the last twelve hours, he’s going to kill me, but oh my what a way to go.’ She has a huge grin on her face as she steps into the shower.

Margaret’s apartment:

10:00 am

"Margaret, I need to call the President and let him know that he still has a Chief of Staff."

Margaret has a puzzled look on her face. "OK?"

"When I left yesterday, I told him that I couldn’t do this without you and that if you weren’t coming back, then he would need to find himself a new Chief of Staff."

Margaret leans over and gives him a kiss. "Did you really mean it?"

"Yeah, I told you earlier, it doesn’t mean anything to me, if you’re not there by my side." Leo pulls her into a hug. She fits so perfectly in his arms, like no one else ever has before. He definitely could get use to spending a lot of time here on the couch with her.

She shifts out of his embace and turns to lean against him. "Leo, I’ll always be by your side."

Leo reaches over to the end table and picks up the phone and dials the President’s private line to the Residence. "Mr. President, It’s me."

"Leo, where are you? Are you alright? I’ve been trying to reach at your hotel and on your cell phone for hours now. I was just about ready to have the Secret Service start looking for you."

"Calm down, Sir. I’m fine. I must have left my cell phone in the office."

"Did you see Margaret? Is she ok? I know that the driver dropped you off at her apartment last night."

"Yeah. I saw her, Sir. She looked pretty ok to me." Leo’s having a hard time not laughing at this comment.

"And?"

"And what, Sir?"

"Is she coming back? Do I still have my Chief of Staff?"

"Yes Sir, we’ll both be back at work tomorrow."

"Good. Is everything ok?"

"It couldn’t be better, Sir."

"Well, are you going to tell me what happened?" Jed is really starting to get upset with his friend’s evasiveness.

"No Sir, I don’t think I’ll share the details." Leo is about to burst out laughing.

"LEO!" Jed has had it; he wants to know what’s going on with his best friend.

"Yes, Sir."

"Ok, you win, but I’ll get it out of you later. Oh, by the way, you’re invited for Christmas dinner, we expect you here promptly at six tonight."

"Ah, Sir, I don’t know if I can make it." Leo’s mind starts racing. ‘Does Abbey know that he’s inviting me?’

"Leo, you are ‘not’ spending another Christmas alone or at work. Abbey says to have your butt here by six and dinner will be promptly served at seven."

"Sir, is it... I mean... can I... would it be ok, if I bring a guest?" Leo doesn’t want to be there without Margaret and he’s not sure he wants to face Abbey alone.

"Oh, and who might that be? As if we didn’t already know. Yes, Leo. Please bring Margaret along with you. We’ll see you both at dinner."

Leo puts the phone down and turns to Margaret. She has overheard most of the conversation and has a very panicked look on her face. "Honey, guess who else gets to hear inane, mindless, Christmas trivia over dinner at the White House tonight?"

"Leo, I can’t... I mean...not with the President and the First Lady..." Margaret’s hands are fidgeting in her lap.

"It will be ok, don’t worry about it." Leo reaches out and takes her hands in his.

"That’s easy for you to say, I’ve never even been inside the Residence before."

"Well, I haven’t been ..." Leo stops himself. He almost let it slip. The fact is, he hasn’t been in the Residence since the First Lady’s return in October except to call him to a meeting during their pre-Christmas dinner with the girls.

"Leo, what’s been going on between you and the First Lady?" Margaret lets her hands fall from his as she turns towards him.

"What do you mean?" Leo has told no one what happened between them after Zoey was rescued. He doesn’t blame Abbey for how she feels, because he knows that Zoey’s kidnapping was his fault. But what transpired between them, during that short meeting in the Residence, profoundly hurt him and for the first time in years, he came close to giving into his biggest weakness. A temptation that he thought that he had beaten and would never attract him again. He had almost to given into his demons, but somehow, he found the will not to give into them and he knew who had kept him straight. Margaret, she had stuck close by his side for those months; she was never more than a few feet away. Even in his mind at night, she was there to watch over him, keeping him on the straight and narrow path. She was always there for whatever he needed, supporting him every step of the way and taking care of him. She made sure he ate, got him to take naps at work and forced him to go home at night. He never would have wanted to feel her disappointment in him. That would just be his undoing.

"You know very well what I mean. Something happened between you two after Zoey was rescued, I’m not blind." Margaret reaches over and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Leo... what happened?"

Leo lowers his head in defeat; he doesn’t want to admit to Margaret that it was his fault that Zoey was kidnapped. That he convinced the President to kill Shareef. How would she feel about him then? He slowly looks at her, he knows he has to tell her; she has the right to know just what type of a man she’s going marry. Then he starts to panic. What if she doesn’t want to marry him after she finds out what kind a monster he really is? He jumps up off the couch and heads to the window in Margaret’s living room. He stands there and stares out at the snow-covered streets. His face begins to show the emotions that he thinks he has successfully covered up, since that day in the Residence.

Margaret moves to his side and gently starts rubbing small circles on his back. "Leo, please tell me. I think I can guess some of it, I know you blame yourself for Zoey’s kidnapping, but it wasn’t your fault and you need to let go of your guilt."

At the sound of her last word, Leo turns and faces her. The tears that are in his eyes, the ones that he is trying so hard to hold inside, are now finding their way down his face. He has never been able to hide anything from her. Of course she would realize how he feels; she has always been the one person who understood him, the one person who’s always been by his side, the one person who always supports him and the one person he can trust.

Jenny never knew him this well, not even after thirty some years of marriage. He had always been able to hide things from her, or maybe she had just given up on him years ago. But not Margaret, she never gave up on him. He needed to tell her the truth. "But, it is my fault. I convinced Jed to kill Shareef. He didn’t want to do it. He said there were moral absolutes. But I talked him into it!"

Leo starts for the door, but Margaret grabs him and holds on for to him dear life. "Leo, you’re not leaving here. Please come sit down on the couch with me. Earlier today you said that you wouldn’t lose me, well now I’m telling you the same thing. I’m not going to lose you now not when we have just found each other. "Please Baby!" Tears are now flowing from her eyes too, as she guides him over to the couch and makes him sit down. "Leo, it was the ‘President’s’ job to do what he did. He did what was best for his country."

"But it wasn’t what was best for his family, look what happened."

"Leo, there’s no concrete proof that connects Zoey’s kidnapping with the killing of Shareef. Its just supposition on your part."

"Tell Abbey that."  These words rushed out of his mouth before he could stop them. Margaret has such an effect on him. He’s more open with her than anyone.  He hasn’t even been able to talk to Jed about what he has been feeling. He can’t sensor himself with her, she knows him too well.

"Leo what happened between you and the First Lady? Come on just tell me... you will fell better if you let it out. And don’t you dare say nothing!"  Margaret is now sitting next to Leo on the couch.  She has one hand resting on his shoulder and the other one is rubbing soothing circles on his leg.

"She..." Leo whispers in a voice rough with tears. "She moved up the meeting, the one discussing

Zoey’s new security measures, with Ron. So I only caught the tail end of it. I assumed it was because she didn’t want me in the meeting, but... she told me that it was because she didn’t want me in the Residence." Leo voice breaks. "She asked if there were other things we’d done and I told her that there wasn’t anything else. She told me not to ask her to trust me and then she left." Leo is sobbing now. His whole body is racked with tears now, that he has finally told someone about what is quite possibly, one of the most painful moments in his life. He buried it along with everything else that has happened, He needed this cleansing of his emotions, his soul.

"Oh Leo." She wraps her arms and around him and tries to comfort him. "She was just upset and was looking for a scapegoat. I’m sure she realizes that now, that she shouldn’t have said what she did."

"No, don’t you get it? She’s right! I don’t deserve..."

Margaret cuts him off. "Leo, she cares or she won’t have told you to be there. I overheard her on the phone! You two need to work this out."

"Yeah?" Leo has calmed down and is now holding her hand that is on his leg. "She did tell me yesterday that we needed to talk." Leo thinks back to their conversation they had about Margaret yesterday.

"You talked with her yesterday?"

"Yeah, she was in my office giving me hell about you and..."

"And what Leo?"

"She was on me, about taking better care of myself." Leo almost smiles at the memory.

"Well, you do need to take better care of yourself!" Margaret scolds.

"Great, tag team Leo time." Leo smirks. He’s actually thinking that maybe Abbey does want to work out the trouble that has come between them. God, how he has missed his friendship with her and Jed.

"Poor Leo."

"Hey."

"What? I do hope you realize that there are going to be some major changes in your lifestyle. We won’t worry about them today, but there will be a forthcoming memo on the subject," she adds with a smirk.

"Great" Leo has moved his hands her face. "Will there be anything in that memo about some new ways to promote stress relief?" His hands start to roam from her face.

"Mr. McGarry, whatever do you mean?" She teases.

Leo moans when she refers to him as Mr. McGarry. "Come her and let me show you." He moves his hands to the buttons on her blouse and starts to unbutton them. At the same time he leans in and presses his lips against hers and starts to thoroughly explore her mouth. She responds by pulling off his undershirt and unbuckling his pants. He removes her blouse and quickly divests her of her bra. He pushes her back onto the couch and proceeds to show her just what method of stress relief he was referring to.

White House Residence:

10:00am

Jed finishes his conversation with Leo and places the receiver back in its cradle. He stands there for a couple of seconds and looks intently at the phone, then he quickly picks up the phone and calls Ron Butterfield, the head of his security detail, and tells him that Operation Awry is over and please pass along his thanks to Coop. He hangs up the phone again and turns towards Abbey. He is wearing a huge smile on his face. Nothing makes him smile more than tormenting his best friend. "Leo’s coming for Christmas dinner and he’s bringing a guest."

"A guest, oh and who might that be, as if you didn’t already know." Abbey, who is sitting on the couch and has been listening to both phone conversations.

 

"Abigail, whatever are you referring to?"  Jed walks over towards the couch.

"Jed, why did you tell him you had been trying to call him? You knew exactly where he was and who he was with."

"I didn’t want him to know that."

"Why?"

"Because he will kill me if he finds out."

"You should have thought of that last night."

"We both know why I had him followed." Jed didn’t need to spell out the reasons. They both were afraid that if he went to Margaret’s and found out she was seriously ill, that he most likely wouldn’t be able to handle it. They knew that Margaret meant more to him than anyone. Leo’s had so much stress these past few months, that they were afraid he would crawl back into the bottle.

"Yeah, but he’s still gonna want to kill you if he finds out you had him tailed. At least you have the Secret Service to protect you."

"Yeah! But I’m not sure even they could stop him. Remember, this is Leo we are talking about!"

"It’s your own fault if he comes after you."

"Well, what good is having the Secret Service, if you can’t use them."

"True, but somehow I don’t think that they are there to follow your best friend and spy on him."

"They weren’t spying!"

"You had him followed after he left the White House last night and you made that poor agent call in every hour and give you an update." Abbey smirks.

"Abbey, Coop wanted to help." Agent Cooper, who is usually assigned to the President, had willingly agreed to follow Leo after the President had quickly explained the situation and his concerns to him. He told Coop to follow him and if it looked like Leo was going to fall into his old ways, that Coop was to stop Leo and call him immediately.

"Volunteered, did he?" Abbey says, with more than just a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Yeah. Besides, it’s not like Leo hasn’t ever had Secret Service protection before."

"I think there’s a difference between having protection and being followed."

"I was just taking a page from Leo’s book. Remember he once had Josh and Sam followed."

"True. But I don’t think he used the Secret Service."

"He’s not the President either." Jed smirks.

"Ok, so how did Leo sound?" Abbey’s voice full of concern now.

Jed glances at Abbey. He knows that there had been a rift between Leo and Abbey since Zoey’s kidnapping. He has tried to stay out of it, deciding that he might get into more trouble by trying to get in-between his wife and best friend. But, these past couple of days, has given him hope that soon, things will go back to the way they were. He knows that Abbey went to visit Leo in his office yesterday afternoon and she had been genuinely concerned about Leo when he had passed out yesterday. Hopefully, they are in the process of mending fences.

"He sounds fine."

"Jethro, details."

"He said he wouldn’t share details." Jed smirks. "He’s bringing Margaret to dinner with him."

"Did something happen between them?"

Jed thinks back to the reports that he received from Coop last night. Abbey had gone to bed after they were informed; ‘Lights were turned off and Thunderchief is still inside Miss McGuire’s apartment’. But Jed was still too concerned about Leo’s welfare and had stayed up. Abbey had accused him of being more nosey than concerned.

The majority of updates from Coop had been; ‘Thunderchief is still inside Miss McGuire’s apartment.’ But around 1130 last night, Jed received an update that made him relax and he too finally went to bed.

Agent Cooper dialed the Presidents private number once again. After only a couple of rings, the phone was answered. "Mr. President, it’s Agent Cooper."

"Yeah, Coop."

"Mr. President, I’ve just had my first visual of Thunderchief since he entered Miss McGuire’s apartment. He is standing at a bay window and Miss McGuire appears to have um... her arms wrapped around him. Sir, they are... engaging in activities of a personal nature."  Usually, agents wouldn’t have given out such details, but he is keenly aware of the tremendous friendship that the President and Leo share and this was a special circumstance. The President had been extremely upset and worried when he asked him to follow Mr. McGarry. He had explained to him that Miss McGuire had resigned and Leo had passed out after receiving her resignation. Coop personally likes and respects Mr. McGarry very much. His assistant’s dedication and loyalty was legendary and widely talked about in the White House. Miss McGuire would have made a very good Secret Service agent.

"Ok, thanks Coop. I really appreciate your help tonight, I’ll have Ron is send over another agent to relieve you."

"Sir, I don’t mind staying. It’s really fine and there’s no reason to involve more agents, Sir."

"Yeah, you’re probably right. Thanks Coop. Oh, and Coop. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Sir."

"Jed." Abbey is watching her husband whose thoughts have been elsewhere. "JED!"

"Uh, yeah." Jed has been thinking about Coop’s last phone call.

"I asked you, if something happened between them!" Abbey is losing her patience with her husband.

"Maybe."

"Ok Jackass, keep it up and you won’t be getting the Christmas present that I have planned for you tonight!"

"Oh Abbey." Jed whined.

"Give!"

"Coop called late last night and said that he saw them standing in front of a window and they were and I quote ‘Miss McGuire has her arms wrapped around him and they are engaging in personal actives’ " Jed has a huge smile on his face. He can’t wait to start tormenting his friend about this.

"Jed, you’re not thinking about tormenting him, are you?"

"Maybe."

"Jed, leave the poor man alone."

"Abbey, can’t I have some fun?"

"No, he’s been through a lot lately. I’ve really been worried about his health since I talked with him yesterday. He’s had far too much stress for way too long. He doesn’t look good and when did he lose so much weight?"

Jed decides that it’s time to find out some answers about what happened between her and Leo. "Abbey, if you would have bee... No wait, I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight about this, but I do want to know what happened between you two before you went to the farm?"

"Jed, it’s something that Leo and I need to sort out ourselves." Abbey hopes that Jed will leave it lay.

"Abbey, it’s wasn’t Leo’s..."

Abbey interrupts her husband. "Jed, lets not do this, please!"

"Ok." Jed really doesn’t want to fight about this on Christmas. He doesn’t want to ever fight about this. He just wants to enjoy this Christmas because they have so much to be thankful for.

"Ok. I need to speak with Leo tonight, before dinner. Do you think you can entertain Margaret while we talk?"

"Sure. Hey maybe I can get some information from her, about what’s going on with them." Jed face lights up at this prospect.

"Jed you’re impossible." Abbey smiles as she gets up from the couch and walks over to her husband and gives him a kiss on the cheek. "You better behave tonight or remember, there’ll be no unwrapping of your present tonight!" Then she swats him on the butt.

"Abbey!"

Margaret’s apartment:

12:00 pm

They are still lying on the couch and neither one of them wants to get up, yet. They are swapping soft kisses and caressing each others body, while quietly talking to one another.

"You know, one of the things I missed most this week, were the messages that you always hand me." Leo whispers into her ear as his fingertips trace her jaw line.

"Really, I never realized you like them so much."

"Yeah... I even have a special file, in the office, full of the more unique and special ones. The President refers to it as the Margaret Museum. Sometimes, he’s even helped decide if a note is truly worthy for the file."

This fact surprises Margaret. "You’ve kept some of my messages and the President not only knows about them, but has read some of them!" Margaret starts to sit up, but Leo holds her against him.

"Yeah." Leo is enjoying tormenting her with this bit of information. She is so easy to have fun with. "Do you want to tell you about some of the ones I’ve kept?"

"I can’t imagine any note of mine being unique enough to keep."

"I’ve only kept the really quirky ones. So it’s a pretty big file!"

This comment earns him a gentle swat on the chest. Margaret is well aware that she is considered to be quirky, but it doesn’t bother her, because its true and she knows it. "Quirky?"

"Yeah, but its one of the qualities I love most about you!" Leo leans over and kisses her on her nose.

Margaret blushes at what Leo has just said. She always thought that she drove him crazy with her quirkiness. "Oh Leo, that’s so sweet."

"I kept the one where you told me to ‘Just eat your damn grapefruit’."

Margaret giggles at that memory. She had heard later that he had referred to her as Jack LaLane.

 Leo continues, "Then there the one where the ‘Iranians have taken to the streets’ and then there is my favorite one. Remember two years ago, when you were taking that correspondence course in Learning to Speak Italian?"

Margaret nods her head. "Yes." Once again, she is surprised that Leo has remembered something that she would have thought to be so trivial to him. But now she knows she shouldn’t be surprised, after all he was in love with her for the past three years and she knows how that feels. She’s sure that Leo would be surprised with all the details that she remembers about him from the past three years too.

"I was in that meeting from hell with the Swiss Diplomats and you brought me a note, written in Italian, that was meant to defuse my temper. It sure did do the trick. You wrote, potrei avere il bibbunino, per favore?" Translated means, ‘Could I have your baby, please?’"

The look of horror that crosses Margaret’s face is quite funny and quickly turns to into a look of embarrassment, complete with red skin. "I did not!"

Leo can’t control his laughter. "Yes... Yes you did. I have carried it in my wallet ever since that day."

"You what?"

"Let me show you." Leo get up and retrieves his pants from the floor and takes out his wallet. He pulls out a neatly folded, but worn, note and hands it to her.

Margaret sits up and takes the note from Leo’s hand. She unfolds it and reads it. "Oh My GOD! It was supposed to say ‘Could I have the check, please’ ... I..." Margaret is now turning three shades of red.

"Honey, I have to tell you, it did me more good the way you wrote it!" Leo sits back down beside her and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "So, what do you say, do you want to have my baby?"

"Leo!" Margaret can’t believe he just said that. He’s been so different here at her apartment. So loving, open and caring. She wishes everyone could see this side of Leo McGarry.  The side she’s always suspected was there.

Leo decides its time to bring up a few issues. "Um... Margaret, speaking of babies, I was wondering, I mean its kind of late now, but do we have anything to worry about. I mean, I didn’t use ... a ... anything when we ah... made love and ..."

Margaret interrupts him before he turns completely red. She thinks he has suffered enough. "Leo, It’s ok. I’m on the pill." She can’t help but giggle at his embarrassment. He’s just too cute this way.

"Ok. I... well we did have unprotected ... um... sex and I just wanted to let you know that there has been one and only one time since Jenny that I ... had ... and we ... I used a ... some protection. Also, I wanted you to know that it’s been over for a while."

Leo’s face is completely red right now, but there is also some sadness showing through. She knows whom Leo is referring to and she can’t say that she’s thrilled to know that Leo had sex with her, but it sounds like he only did it once. She finds this rather particular, since they seemed to be together for a few months. She knew he hadn’t seen her for a while, but she is very relieved to hear him say that it’s been over for some time now.

"Ok." Is all she can mange to say. As she looks down at her hands.

 "Margaret, there is something that we need to talk about. Actually, more like something I need to explain to you. Something that I need you to understand." Leo’s eyes have sadness about them as he looks at her. He seems almost afraid to go on.

"Leo honey, remember I told you, that you need never be afraid to tell me anything."

"Margaret, I want to explain my relationship with Jordan, to you."


	6. Christmas Without You 6

**Christmas Without You**

**by:[ AdoreLeo](mailto:rockfordfilesfan@aol.com)**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

Dec 25, 2003

Margaret’s apartment:

12:00 pm (continues)

Margaret sits quietly with her head lowered and her hands tightly clasped on her lap. Her mind races as she recalls the night that she witnessed Leo and Jordan out on the portico dancing. Painful images from that night flow quickly through her mind. She’s not sure that she wants to hear what Leo wants to explain. But, she knows that she’s to trust him. After a few seconds, she takes a deep breath and lifts her eyes and stares intently into Leo’s honey colored eyes. "Ok." The word slowly creeps from her lips.

Leo gets up off the couch and puts on his clothes. He sits back down on the couch and stares at the small Christmas tree in the corner of her living room. He keeps forgetting that this is Christmas Day. On this holiest of days and he’s about to confess, what he considers to be, one of the worst mistakes he’s ever made. "Margaret, your tree is beautiful". He realizes that he’s stalling, but it’s a difficult thing that he needs to admit to Margaret. 

"Thanks. I wish I could have a larger one." Margaret has followed Leo’s lead and

has gotten dressed. She sits down beside Leo and places her hand on his leg. "Leo, you don’t have to explain anything to me. What happened before we were together doesn’t matter." She’s not sure if she’s trying to convince Leo or herself with this statement.

"Margaret, there are several things in my life that I’ve done that I’m not very proud of, you’re aware of some and have even witnessed a few of them." He pauses and draws in a slow breath as he lays a shaky hand on top of Margaret’s hand that is resting on his leg. "But, my relationship with Jordan is, quite possibly, one of my worst transgressions. I only dated her as a distraction.  I used her, to try and get over my feelings for you. I never loved her." Leo lowers his head. He can’t look Margaret in the eye. His face is covered with shame.

"Leo," she pauses, she needs to know about the night that she observed them. "On election night, I... saw you two dancing. You looked..." Margaret’s tears that she’s trying so hard to hang onto, find their the way down her face.

"Oh Margaret." He never knew that she saw him that night. "I was... feeling so high that night, from our victory, that I gave into my physical desires and slept with her that night. As soon as it was over, I realized what a terrible mistake I’d made. All the feelings for you, that I’d been successful in pushing away, came rushing back." Leo pauses. He now knows that he hurt her that night and he needs for her to understand that he would never purposely do anything to hurt her. He’s been trying to spare her from himself for years now. "Margaret, remember when I told you this morning that I realized I loved the day my divorce papers came."

Margaret bobs her head. "Yes."

"And I meant it. But, I thought that you were better off without an old man, with so much baggage, for a boyfriend. I’d driven away Jenny. I couldn’t take a chance on driving you away too. So I pushed my feelings aside and buried myself even more into my work. It worked for a while, but do you remember the time I walked in on you in CJ’s office?"

"Yes." A small smile appears on her lips at that memory.

"Well, I um... had quite a reaction to the sight of your long legs." A slight blush crosses over Leo’s face. "After that, I made the decision that day to start pursuing Jordan."

"Ok." Margaret whispers.

"The night of the re-election, I felt... like... I’d cheated on you. Jordan and I only saw each other a few times after that, but I never had... sex with her again. Within a couple of weeks of that night, we stopped seeing each other altogether. I realized that if I couldn’t be with you, that I didn’t want to be with anybody. So, once again, I buried my feelings. Then when you didn’t show up at work this week, I started missing you and I kept getting this feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t realize, at first, what the feeling was, because I’d been in denial for so long. Then yesterday, I finally admitted to myself that I was in love with you." Leo looks at Margaret in hopes of finding some understanding in her eyes.

"Leo, we’ve both made mistakes in the past. I, too, have used others to try and get over you and each time I’d wake up the next morning feeling cheap and empty inside. Leo, the past is the past. We have each other now and that’s all that matters."

Something starts to weigh heavy on her mind. She’s not sure if she should divulge a secret that she’s kept from him. This particular matter happened right before Leo had stopped seeing Jordan, and since Jordan was out of the picture soon after it occurred, Margaret decided not to tell Leo what she knew. But now, she’s thinking that it might help Leo feel better about his liaison with Jordan.

"Leo, there’s something that I think you should know. I never told you this before, because right after it happened, you stopped seeing Jordan, so I didn’t see any reason to tell you." Margaret is still having second thoughts about whether she should continue.

"Margaret, I suspected that you never liked Jordan, because you always seem to vanish whenever she was around. Its another reason why I felt so guilty about dating her and probably another big reason why I stopped." Leo looks at her with his honey colored eyes and reaches out to gently touch the side of her face.

Margaret is somewhat surprised by the fact that she wasn’t able to hide the aversion she held for Jordan, from Leo. She thought she’d done a better job than that. But, that’s not important now, she decides. She wants Leo to feel better and to let him know that Jordan was not without her own transgressions as far as their relationship was concerned.

"Yes, its true that I wasn’t fond of Jordan, but that’s not what I need to tell you. I once overheard a cell phone conversation that Jordan had with someone. She was waiting for you in your office and she thought that I was still at lunch. But, I’d forgotten my purse and gone back to my desk to get it. She was telling someone on the phone that her flirtation with you, was purely based on physical needs." Margaret pauses and wonders if she should tell him about how Jordan proceeded to tell this person that it did have some added bonuses. That her clientele had not only increased in size, but also the importance of clients had increased as well, since it had leaked that they were dating. Then, she went on to say that her office had leaked the story to the press.  But Margaret decided against telling him, because she didn’t want to hurt him with this information.

Leos visually seems relived with what he’s just heard. "Margaret thanks for telling me this. It still doesn’t change the fact that I was using her, but it does make me feel better knowing that it was only physical for her, too."

"Leo, what’s done is done. And that goes for both of us. We both have things we wish we could change, but we can’t. We just need to ‘move on’. At least that what I hear someone tell the President, all the time." How many times has she heard Leo’s gravely voice say, ‘Move on, Mr. President.’ She can’t help but smile as the sound of his voice, echoes through her mind.

"Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. We’ll just move on."

Leo reaches over and pulls Margaret into his arms. He can’t believe how lucky he’s, to have finally found his place in life. He slowly pulls himself from her arms and stands up and reaches a hand out to Margaret. "Baby, I’m really tired and drained. I think I’m going to take a nap. Will you come too? I’d love to just lay there and hold you in my arms." Leo has such a little boy look on his face.

"Sure. I could really use a nap too and I’d like nothing better than to take it, while laying in your arms." Margaret takes his hand and leads him to her bedroom. "You need to rest up for this evening." She smirks.

"Margaret!" A widespread grin crosses his face. "You’re going to be the death of me!"

"Yeah?" She says, with a coy glance at him.

"Yeah, remember I’m an old man!"

"You didn’t seem very old to me last night or this morning."

"Yeah?"

"Honey, your age doesn’t matter to me. And if these past few hours have been any indication of your age, well then, I’d say you have nothing to worry about."

"Ok." Leo says slowly and somewhat timidly. "But, I still need a nap." Leo can’t believe he wants to take a nap. He’s never been one to nap during the day. But, then again, they really didn’t get much sleep last night and most of his nights lately, haven’t been filled with such strenuous activities.

"Me too." Margaret can’t believe she’s so tired, this early in the day. But, they have had some difficult and straining moments this morning. Plus, there were all those vigorous activities from the night before, too.

Leo lays down on the bed and pulls her into his arms. He’s perfectly content to lie there for a while, just holding her tightly in his arms. He can’t believe how good it feels to have her next to him and how quickly his life has changed in these past few hours. He sighs and slowly drifts off to sleep.

Margaret lays curled up in his arms and can’t believe how safe and secure she feels laying in his arms. She’s dreamed about this many times before, but those dreams don’t even come close, to how she feels right now. She hears him sigh, as she drifts off to sleep.

Residence:

12:00 pm

"Jed, will you come over here and sit down?" Jed is about to drive Abbey crazy. He’s been pacing around the Residence every since he’d gotten off the phone with Leo.

"What, can’t a guy wonder around in his own... house?" Jed walks over to the couch and falls down next to her.

"Jed, what’s wrong?"

"I’m just thinking about Leo."

"You mean worrying, right? Abbey gives him a knowing look.

"I know what I meant." He smirks back to her.

"Jethro?"

"Would you please stop calling me that!" Jed pleads, in a whiny voice.

"No, I don’t think I will." Abbey retorts back to him.

"Whatever."

"Jed, why are you worr... I mean, thinking about Leo?"

"Its just... you know what his whole life has been like. He just... You don’t know what he’s been through, these past few months. I just want this thing, whatever it’s, with Margaret, to work out for him. I don’t think he could take another blow in his life if it doesn’t."

"Jed, I noticed something about Leo yesterday that I haven’t seen in a long time and I’d hoped I’d never to see again. He’s been close to the edge, hasn’t he?" Abbey’s voice is full of guilt and concern. "Jed, just what all has been going on around here?"

Jed turns to her. He wants to lash out at her in anger. Anger, that he’s kept hidden for a while now. But, he knows that she’s not the cause of most his outrage. He’s furious with himself. "Abbey, I don’t even know where to begin. So much happened, while you were away."

"Oh, Jed." Her voice is filled with sorrow. She’d been too wrapped up in her own anger, to even think about what had been going on with Jed or anyone else.

"Abbey, what’s happened has happened. We just move on." Jed reaches out and takes her hand.

"Jed, please tell me what has been going on with Leo."

Jed goes on to explain the lowlights of the past few months. About how he feels he’s to blame, for a lot of Leo’s stress. That he left the running of the country to Leo while he went off to, ‘I don’t give a damn anymore land’. That Leo was the one dealing with all of the crises, the staff’s tribulations, the new Vice President, Josh’s blunder and a dozen other important things. He told her how Leo had been protecting him and that Leo had been the one who had held together the administration.  He told her about Leo’s intense grouchiness and moodiness. He told her how he’d even overheard Margaret commenting about Leo’s temperament, to Charlie. He told her that Leo was smoking again and that he couldn’t help but wonder, if that bad habit was back, could Leo be far from having others take over his life again?

Abbey is somewhat shocked by all that has happened and realizes that she’s had a part in all of this, too. "Jed, Leo needs a break and not just a long weekend. He needs to get away from this place."

"Yeah, but you know him. He’ll never agree to it."

"What good is being the President, if you can’t order him to?" Abbey smirks.

"Yeah!"

"I still need to talk with Leo tonight." Abbey says, as she looks at Jed. Jed gives her a concerned look. "Jed, don’t start with me. I know I was partly to blame for his current condition and I plan on setting the record straight, tonight."

"Ok." Jed can’t help but think that this is a good thing.

"While I’m talking with Leo, you need to discuss Leo’s situation and proposed solution with Margaret. If anyone can get him to take a vacation, it will be her."

"Great, we get to gang up on him. I love this plan already."

"Jed, we need to tread lightly with this, don’t go overboard."

"Who, me?" Jed gives her a look of disbelief.

"Yeah, you!"

"Ok, I promise." Jed seals the deal with a kiss.

Margaret’s Apartment:

2:00 pm

Leo has been awake for a couple of minutes, but has no interest in getting out of bed. He’s very content to rest here and hold Margaret. He thinks about what their married life might be like and can’t keep the growing smile from his face. He’s probably smiled and laughed more in these last few hours than he’s had in months. He doesn’t want to rush Margaret, but there are a lot of things that need to be decided and worked out quickly. They have wasted far too much time; he doesn’t want to wait much longer. He knows this is what he wants; he hopes that she feels the same way. His mind wanders back to the first three days of this week, as Margaret starts to stir in his arms.

"Hey, Baby." He murmurs into her ear and pulls her even closer to him.

"Mmmm..." She sighs. "I never knew that napping could be so relaxing."

"Yeah."

"Have you been awake long?" She says, as she rolls over to face him and plant some small kisses on his brow.

"Nope, not too long."

"What ya been thinking about?" She continues her assault on his face.

"Um... just the some of what happened earlier this week."

"Care to tell me?" She’s stopped kissing him and is looking into his warm eyes.

"I was just thinking that you never get to ever take another day off again, without me." He says, making a flustered face.

"Oh, Leo, that’s so sweet."  But then she notices his facial expression. "Why? What happened? Did you mess up my files?"

"They’re technically my files and no, I didn’t mess up your renowned system." He chortles back at her.

"Well, maybe, but you’re not the one who has to keep them in order. So, would you care to enlighten me about what was going on, while I was having my break?"

"I was saddled with the temp from Hades. She was a stiff as a board and had the personality of a doorknob. As soon as six o’clock rolled around, she was out the door. She made me call her Ms. Whitcome and she wanted me to use the intercom. Her coffee making skills come nowhere near yours and if you innocently give her a muffin, she accuses you of trying to pick her up!"

"Leo, you tried to pick her up?" Margaret finds this very funny and a great opportunity to pick on him.

"No! That’s not what happened. I’d been down to the mess and they had just put out fresh muffins. I wasn’t thinking and picked a blueberry one up for you. I didn’t even realize my mistake, until I got back to the office and found her in your chair. You know I don’t like blueberry, so I decided to give it to her." Leo pauses as the scene replays mind. "She immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion and told me that she would not be party to that type of a relationship. That she didn’t believe in mixing business and pleasure. That I should act my age and then told me if I persisted, she would file a sexual harassment complaint against me. Then she wanted to know, if you put up with that type of treatment!"

Margaret can’t help herself as she bursts out with laughter. "Oh, Leo, you poor thing!"

"It’s not funny." He’s quite flustered from having just relived the moment.

"Poor baby, did the mean temp scare you?" She asks in her best motherly tone that she could manage, between bouts of laughter.

"Margaret!"

"Well, serves you right for hitting on her like that. A man of your advanced years, what were you thinking?" She’s still trying to keep up the facade, but failing miserably at keeping a straight face.

"You know she does have certain qualities that I like in a woman." Leo decides it’s his turn to have his fun.

"Yeah?" She snorts, having still not completely recovered from her attack of the giggles.

"Yeah. She doesn’t tell dumb jokes, she doesn’t nag me about getting enough to eat or sleep and she could care less if I slouch in my desk chair."

Margaret pretends to pout at Leo’s statement. "You just named qualities that she doesn’t have."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I’ll tell you something else she doesn’t have. She doesn’t have my love!" Leo reaches over and pulls her into a tight hug. "Margaret, I love your quirkiness, the way you look out for me and care for me, all of your notes you give me, the way you keep me centered and the way you move, from your office to mine. But most of all, I love you. We have wasted so much time. I don’t want to waste another moment. I want you to move in with me."

"Leo, do you think that’s a wise thing to do before we get married?"

"I don’t care. I want you safe with me. This building and neighborhood that you live in, is far too dangerous." Leo’s face has taken on a serious quality.

 

"But, I’ve lived here since the Administration started. I’ve not had many problems." Margaret’s knows that she’s in for it, the second that last bit slipped out of her mouth.

"Margaret, what problems?" Leo voiced, with great concern.

"And besides, I can’t move in with you, you live in a hotel. Which I might add is a ‘huge’ waste of money. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you at least a hundred times, that you spend way too much money." Margaret is trying her best to derail his questioning.

"A for effort Margaret, but don’t think you’re getting me off the subject that easily. Now, what problems?"

Margaret realizes that there is no way that he’s going to give up. So, she might as well tell him. "Um... I did have a break in once."

"And?" Leo can tell that she’s holding something back.

"Ok, I was... mugged almost two years ago." Margaret absent-mindedly raises her hand and touches the spot where the mugger had hit her on her head.

"Margaret, did he hurt you?" Margaret’s slight gesture to her head doesn’t go unnoticed by him. He reaches over and pushes aside the hair at the spot she’d touched and notices a scar. "Oh, Baby. When and where did it happen?"

"Leo, I’m ok. It happened..." Margaret doesn’t want him to know that it happened on a night that she’d stayed late at work, because Leo had needed something done before she left work. She isn’t going to tell him that she hadn’t been paying close attention to her soundings, the night of her attack, on her way home from the metro stop, because she was fretting about him. She’d been so worried about him all that day, ok more worried than normally.  On the afternoon before, Leo had a meeting with General Adamley, an old Air Force buddy. After the General had left, Margaret had found him in his office softly crying. He’d tried to hide the fact that he was crying and told her to go home, so Margaret didn’t question him about what was going on and left his office. But, Margaret didn’t go home right away. Instead, she visited his best friend that night and told the President that she was worried about Leo. She never did find out why Leo was upset that night, but the next day Leo was very despondent and guilt ridden. Margaret had driven herself crazy that day trying to ease his burden and when he’d asked her to stay late, she was more than glad to help. It had been an emotionally draining and tiring day for Margaret. Her mind was elsewhere on her walk to her apartment and didn’t even notice that she was being followed. The man attacked her and might have done more except that someone had come along and scared him off. The memory of that night made her shudder. "Leo, I..."

"Oh, Margaret, it happened because of me, didn’t it. It was because I kept you late at work, wasn’t it?"

Margaret shakes her head no.

"Margaret, don’t lie to me."

"Yes." She now nods her head, as she whispers yes and then quickly tries to take the blame. "But, I wasn’t paying close attention and..."

"Stop it. Stop trying to protect me." Leo puts his hands on her shoulders. "When?" Is the only word that would come out of his mouth.

"Remember last year when I called in and told you I’d a family emergency and needed a week off." Margaret lowers her head in shame for having lied to Leo back then.

"Yeah." And then it dawns on him. "Is this," gently touching her scar, "the reason why?"

Margaret nods her head yes.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"I didn’t want you blaming yourself. I didn’t know what was going on with you at that time, but I wasn’t going to add to your guilt or bother you with any problem of mine."

Leo looks at her with a puzzled look. "Well, which problem, Lord knows we’ve had our fair share of them!"

"It happened the day after your meeting with General Adamley. I don’t know what happened during that meeting, but when I went in your office after the meeting I... um... found you crying. I realized you were trying to hide the fact, so I left you alone." She doesn’t want Leo to know that she went to the President after she left his office. "When I came to work the next day, I could tell that you were still upset. You were a darker shade of gray that day." Margaret looks at Leo with so many unasked questions showing on her face. She knows that Leo flew in the war in Vietnam and the General Adamley had been his commander or something of his. She assumed it had something to do with that, but she’d never asked.

Leo drops his head, while thinking back to what Adamley had told him that day. How was he going to tell Margaret that he’d killed eleven innocent civilians in the bombing of a supposed military target? He decides that now is not the time for it. One day he would sit her down and tell her about some of his war experiences or maybe he never will. But now, he just wants Margaret to be safe. He wants to protect her from danger of her living environment and from his past. He raises his face and looks into her blue eyes. "Margaret... I... someday I’ll...."

Margaret interrupts him. "Leo, it’s ok. You’ll tell me when you’re ready." Several seconds pass before either one of them says anything.

"Margaret, I still think... no I want you to move in with me." Leo tries to put on a smile.

"I’m not going to live in a hotel."  She replies.

"Well, then it’s time I found a house or something." Leo tells her.

Margaret perks up at the mention of him finally moving from that hotel that he’s lived in for almost 4 years now. "Really?"

"Yes, we’re getting married and we’ll need a place to live. So, we might as well find a place now and move into it together."

Margaret gets that look again, like she’s getting ready to protest the moving in together. But, Leo doesn’t let her even start. "Margaret, we’ve wasted too much time. Please tell me you’ll move in with me and that we can start to make a life together, right away."

"Well, Mr. McGarry, how can a girl resist an offer like that?" She brazenly says to him. She knows how calling him Mr. McGarry gets to him.

"You’re going to be the death of me, yet." Leo moans as he pulls her back down onto the bed and assaults her with kisses.

After a few minutes of intense kissing, Leo gently pulls away from Margaret. "Baby, there’s nothing I’d rather do than finish what we started here, but I need to go to my hotel and get some clothes to wear to the dinner tonight." He pauses and thinks about how to phrase his next sentence. "Um... Also, I was hoping that I could pack up a few things and bring them over here for after the dinner. I really don’t want to spend another night away from you." Leo anxiously awaits her response.

"Leo, I can’t imagine spending another night without you by my side. Should I get dressed now and go over to the apartment with you or do you want to come back and get me?"

"Oh no, you’re coming with me. I’m not giving you a chance to escape. You’re staying close by my side. You’re not going to get a chance to avoid an evening with Mr. Christmas Trivia himself!" Leo laughs as he starts to attack her with more kisses. Leo is having a definite problem in his pants. They suddenly have gotten really tight in the front. He starts to rub himself against her thigh.

"Leo, stop that. I thought you said we needed to get going. If we keep this up, I’ll never get changed into my evening clothes."  She gets up and heads to her closet in search of an appropriate outfit.

Leo follows close behind her. "OK by me, I like you undressed. Let me help." He presses himself into her from behind and wraps his arms around her waist and holds her close to him. He starts to unbutton her blouse and since he can’t see what he’s doing, his hands keep missing the buttons and brushing against her breasts.

 

"Leo, stop it. Go out into the living room and wait for me. I’ll be out in a bit."

"Can’t I stay here and watch." Leo whines, as her turns her in his arms and starts to caress her breasts.

"No, because you’ll proven yourself to be untrustworthy when it comes to me and even just the thought of me without clothes on."

"I still don’t see the problem."

"Well, if you’d look down at yourself, you’d see the problem that I’m referring to." She glances down at the front of his pants and feels a shiver go through her body. No man has ever made her feel this way. She’s surprised at the affect she’s on Leo.

Leo takes a step back and looks down at the front of his pants. The bulge is very noticeable. "I still don’t see a problem. I see something that needs to be taken care of, but it’s not too hard of a problem for you to help me solve. I think you’re up to the challenge, I know I’m up to it." He says, with an emphasis on the words hard and up.

"Leo! You’re terrible. What happened to your ‘I’m an old man’ and ‘you’re going to be the death of me’ routines?" She playfully slaps his chest and then proceeds grind her body into his.

"I’ve had a power nap with my arms wrapped around a beautiful lady, so it not my fault that you have this affect on me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Leo, Honey, I really do need to get dressed. I also have to do my hair and makeup. We’ll have time for us later tonight."

"Ok." Leo pouts. "But, we will continue this later?"

"Yes, Honey. I promise. Now, why don’t you go make arrangements for a service car to come get us and take us to your hotel and then it can take us to the White House."

"Ok." Leo walks stiffly from her bedroom to the living room. He’s really having a difficult time with the problem located in his pants. He makes the call for a car. He decides to go back to the bedroom and tell Margaret that everything is set. He gets to the doorway just in time to see her slip her dress over her braless body. He follows the path of the dress down to her silk panties. Leo groans at the site before his eyes. His pants twitch in the front.

"Leo, you’re just making it worse. Go wait for me in the living room." She scolds.

Leo slinks off to the living room and sits down on the couch. He can’t get his mind off her long legs and that is not helping his problem at all.

A few minutes later, Margaret has finished getting ready and come out into the living room. "I’m ready, is the car here yet?"

Very gingerly, Leo gets up from the couch and turns towards Margaret. "Yeah, it just got here."

Margaret can’t believe her eyes. Leo is still sporting a huge bulge in his pants. "Leo!"

"Baby, I can’t help it. My mind won’t stop thinking about you."

"Are you going to be able to make it to the car?" She teases.

"Yeah. Thank God it’s winter time and my heavy overcoat will hide my ‘Problem’ as you call it."

Margaret can’t help but giggle and continues to torment him. "Well, that’s differently NOT a problem that an old man would have, for this ‘length’ of time!"

"Margaret!" Leo growls. "You killing me over here." He motions to the front of his pants.

"Come on Honey, we should get going." She goes to the coat tree in her hallway and grabs hers and Leo’s coats. She hands Leo his coat.

"I think you could choose your words more carefully." He whines, as he grabs his coat and puts it on.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Ok, I’ll try and be better. I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself before tonight. I have plans for you later, Mr. McGarry." She says in her sexiest voice.

"Oh, merciful God, Margaret! Would you please quit it?"

"Quit what?" She innocently asks, as she bats her eyes at him. She flips her hair at him and heads for the door. "Let’s not keep the driver waiting any longer." She opens the door and stands in the doorway, waiting for Leo to make his way to and out the door. She just can’t resist on more grab. "Hey, Leo, is that a banana in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" She’s overcome with a case of the giggles again.

"Hell! Margaret. That’s where you’re going, Hell!" Leo heads down the hall and down the stairs. Thank God, Margaret only lives on the second floor. He doesn’t think he can make it down more than one flight of stairs with his current predicament. He holds the outside door open for Margaret, as they exit. It’s blistering cold outside and for once in his life, Leo McGarry is happy that the temperature’s below freezing. The cold air is helping to shrink his difficulty. By the time he reaches the car, after holding the door open for Margaret, he’s feeling a lot less restriction in his pants. He breaths a heavy sigh of relief as he sits down.

"Problem, Leo?" Margaret can’t resist making just one more comment.

"No, I think everything’s finally under control." He smirks. "But, there will be some sort of punishment, for your earlier behavior."

"Punishment, why Mr. McGarry, that sounds very nice." She breathily says.

"Yeah." He growls back at her. He knows when he’s been beaten. There’s no way that he can win at this game with her. She doesn’t play fair.  But, then again, he wouldn’t want it any other way.


	7. Christmas Without You 7

**Christmas Without You**

**by:[ AdoreLeo](mailto:rockfordfilesfan@aol.com)**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

Dec 25, 2003

Residence:

2:00 pm

Abbey is sitting on the couch in their bedroom, inside the Residence. She’s trying to read a magazine article, but can’t keep her mind focused on what she’s reading. She can’t get the image of Leo, passed out on the floor of his office, out of her head. What if it had been a heart attack and had di....? No, she shakes her head trying to rid it of that mental picture. Leo’s fine, it wasn’t a heart attack, but it was a jolt of reality. It’s time settle some things between them, today.

During the past few months, she has been so unaware of what was going on around her. All she was concerned about was Zoey. After her rescue, she had whisked her away to the farm and they had stayed there for almost three months, during which time she had little, if any contact, with her husband. They had only spoken on the phone a few times and she resisted any attempt he made at coming to visit. Looking back now, she feels that it was probably horribly unfair to Zoey and Jed that she had done this, but at the time, she did what she thought was best, to help her daughter heal.

Abbey had so much pent up anger about the situation with Shareef, that it was best for her not to have to deal with Jed, or even see him. She had blamed him for Zoey’s kidnapping and had punished him by taking his youngest daughter away from him. But Jed wasn’t the only one to receive blame and feel her wrath. Even through she had told Leo not to think that he had taken the bullet, lately she realized that not only had he taken the bullet, but that he was still bleeding from it.

The last time Abbey saw Leo, before her self-imposed exile to the farm, had been at Zoey’s new security details meeting, in the Residence. She had purposely moved the time of the meeting, so that Leo wouldn’t be there. He did arrive at the very end of the meeting as Ron Butterfield was leaving. Leo was very pensive acting as he hesitated to sit down. She told him that she moved the meeting forward because she didn’t want him in the Residence. Abbey told him, not to ask her to trust him anymore. The image of Leo’s pained face has started to haunt her. At the time, it didn’t even register with her, but since her return to the White House, her memory had become less clouded by anger and she realizes now that her actions were not exactly rational.

The last time Abbey saw Leo look that way, was when Jed had been shot. Leo would have given anything to have traded places with Jed, on that day. Leo had held them altogether in the hours after the shooting and the days to come after that, too. She had worried about him so much during the aftermath of the shooting. She could tell that he was hurting and feeling extremely guilty. Leo’s good at always stepping up and taking the blame for anything that goes wrong. He reasoned that he got Jed shot, because he pushed him into running for President. Leo’s self-sacrificing tendencies had cost him a lot in his life and Abbey is afraid that someday, it would cost him everything.

Abbey gives up trying to read the magazine and puts it down. She gets up and wanders over to the window and stares out at the newly fallen snow. Somehow, she needs to figure out what she’s going to say to Leo tonight. She knows that she lashed out at him and blamed him for what had happened. She’s caused him tremendous pain and suffering but at the time, she wanted everyone to hurt as much as she did. She had been so full of anger that her judgment had been impaired. But now, she knows that most of her anger came from the pain of almost losing her daughter. She realizes that Zoey’s kidnapping occurred because she was the President’s daughter and while she still held Jed and Leo somewhat responsible for the whole ordeal, it was now a more rational anger, that she felt, not the all consuming ‘kill anyone who gets in my way anger’, that she first felt. She knows that neither one of them would have ever done anything that they felt would have put herself or her kids in jeopardy. Jed and she have finally resolved things between them and now feels she needs to set things right between Leo and herself.

Abbey’s also concerned about Leo’s health. The years of alcohol and drug abuse have taken their toll on him, but the years in the White House are slowly destroying him. Leo’s stress level is extremely high and she suspects that his cholesterol and blood pressure are way too high, as well. She’s going to have to work on him, about taking better care of himself.

Abbey is still standing at the window, when Jed enters the room. She’s so deep in thought that she doesn’t hear him. He walks up to her and stands beside her. Finally, she senses his presence and turns toward him. There are tears flowing from her eyes.

"Abbey, what’s wrong?"

"I was just thinking about Leo." She lays a hand on her husband’s chest.

"Abbey, did something happen? Is he ok?"

"Jed, no, nothing’s happened, I was just thinking about these past few months and its impact on all of us."

"Abbey, it’s going to be ok. He’s coming over tonight and you two will both find peace with each other and he needs to make peace with himself, as well" Jed reaches over and pulls his wife into his arms.

"I hope so. I feel so bad about wha ...."

"Shh Abbey, its going to be fine." Jed says, as he’s rubbing gentle circles on her back.

"Jed, have you made peace with yourself? Are we ok?"

"Abbey, we’re fine. I love you."

"Oh Jed, I made so many mistakes..."

"I did too! Now lets just move on. We can’t go back and change the past. You can regret it, but you can’t impact it."

"The words and wisdom of Josiah Bartlet."

"Yeah." Jed smirks.

"Ok."

"Ok."

"Oh Jed, I’m so tired and drained." She says, as she lays her head on her husband’s shoulder.

 

"Well Sweet Knees, why don’t we take a nap. I bet when we wake up that things will feel better."

"You mean a nap, not a ‘family barbeque’. Right?" She teases him.

"Abbey!"

"Cause, remember your Christmas present doesn’t get unwrapped, until later tonight."

"Abbey, now how am I suppose to nap now with that image in my head?"

"Sorry."

"Are not!" Jed whines.

"Probably not,"  She smirks.

"Yeah?’

"Yeah." She coos softly to him.

Jed pulls from her arms and takes her by the hand and leads her to their bed. They curl up in each other’s arms and slowly drift off to sleep.

Leo’s Hotel:

3:30 pm

Margaret soon forgets her playfulness on the ride over to Leo’s hotel. The closer they get to his hotel, the more anxious and fidgety she gets. Leo had arranged for his driver to pick them up at Margaret’s apartment but once they got to his hotel, he dismisses the driver. Margaret glares at him when he does this.

"Margaret, I’ll drive us to the White House. It’s Christmas, I didn’t want to keep him away from his family." Leo’s not going to tell her that he also has another reason why he doesn’t want the driver waiting around for them.

"Ok." She barely squeaks out.

Margaret hesitates outside the hotel’s entrance. Leo places a hand in the small of her back and guides her to the revolving door. Once she gets inside the door, she freezes. Leo has to gently rotate the revolving to door into her backside to get her to move. They enter the lobby to find it empty of guests. He’s sure that he hears Margaret breath, a sigh of relief.

Leo has to practically run, to keep up with Margaret’s long, nervous strides across the hotel lobby, to the bank of elevators. They take an elevator up to his floor. When the doors opened, Margaret just stands there. Leo has to steer her out of the elevator and down the hall to his room.  As he’s getting his key card out and unlocking the door, she constantly glances back and forth, down the hallway.

"Margaret, will you calm down?"

Margaret gives him her patented ‘you’re got to be kidding’ death stare.

For a spilt second, Leo considers dropping the card key and delaying their entry into his room just to see her reaction, but he thinks she might kill him, if he did. As soon as he opens the door, she dashes into his room.  He smiles at the fact that he didn’t have to guide her into his room. As soon Leo closes the door behind them, he grabs Margaret and pushes her against the wall in his entryway and begins kissing her. After a few seconds, he comes up for air and leans his forehead against hers.

"Better?"

"Yeah."

"Ok then." He leans back and raises a hand to her face and gently traces her jaw line. "I’m going to go pack a bag for tomorrow, shave and change my clothes for tonight. You want to come with me?" Margaret nods her head yes. Leo takes her hand and tows her into his bedroom.

Margaret’s been to his hotel room several times before and knows her way around.  She’s had to pack for him when last minute trips have come up. She’s also had to run over and get him a change of clothes, if he spent the night at work. But, this is the first time she’s been here as his girlfriend. She can’t help but smile at this notion, his girlfriend. Then the panic hits her again, they’ll have to leave the safety of his room and make the return journey through his hotel. She flinches and her hand falls from Leo’s.

"Baby, what is it?"

"We have to go back through the lobby." Her statement sounds more like a question than a fact.

"Yeah."

"Oh Leo, maybe I should have waited for you at my apartment." She says, as she nervously bites her bottom lip.

Leo puts his arms around her waist and draws her near. "Don’t worry about it. It’s Christmas and it should still be empty. Even if it was full, it wouldn’t matter, to me."

"Leo?"

"I love you and I don’t care who knows. Now, just relax. I need to get my stuff together." He moves away from her and goes to his closet and retrieves his overnight bag and starts to pack it.

Margaret walks over to his bed and sits down. Leo notices her on his bed and images flood his brain from the dream he had, only two nights ago. In his dream, Margaret had on an evening gown, very similar to the one she has on now. He stops packing and stares at her in disbelief seeing that she’s really here, now with him. Knowing that they are really a couple and that they are going to get married. He walks over to her and sits down next to her.

"I can’t believe you’re here. I love you." A tear of happiness silently makes its way down his face.

"Oh, Leo, I love you, too." She reaches over and wipes the tear from his face.

Leo draws Margaret close to him and tightly wraps his arms around her. He just holds her there for a while whispering words of love, in her ear. They begin to kiss. At first their kisses are gentle and soft. After a while, the intensity of their kisses grows. He can’t get over how perfectly their lips fit together and how good she feels in his arms. They roll over to their sides on his bed. His hands find her bottom and he squeezes it. His earlier problem is back in full force.

He sits up and takes her hand and pulls them off the bed. They are standing face to face. He slowly lifts her dress up over her head. The sight of her firm breasts almost pushes him over the edge. He can’t believe how excited he gets, just looking at her body. No one has ever had this affect on him before. Margaret reaches out and unfastens his pants and they quickly drop to the floor. She slowly unbuttons his shirt and slides it off his shoulders. His boxers and under shirt are the next things to go. Leo moves them back over to the bed and pushes her down on the mattress.  He removes her panties and pantyhose and moves on top of her. She soon wraps those long legs around his waist and they are off flying, once again, in tandem.

After it’s over, Leo gets himself under control as he rolls off Margaret and lays next to her. "Margaret, that was... I mean it..." He can’t come up with the appropriate words to finish his sentence.

`"Yeah!" She whispers, as she snuggles up close to him and lays her head on his chest, where she can feel his racing heart. She places a hand on his face and traces his jaw line with her fingertips. His face has a day’s worth of stubble on it. She thinks it makes him look sexier.`

Leo takes her hand from his face and kisses it. "We’d better get up. I still need to finish packing, shave and get dressed for dinner. We don’t have a lot of time, but I think we have time for a quick shower together."

Margaret thinks back to the last hour they just spent in his hotel room and smirks. " It’s all your fault if we’re late for dinner."

"How do you figure that?"

"`You’d have a lot more time to get ready, if you could have controlled yourself earlier."`

"I don't seem to remember hearing any complaints from you, then." He gives her, his infamous lopsided grin.

She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses his lips. "Well, I’m not really complaining mind you, I’m just setting the record straight."

"Come on Baby, let’s grab a quick shower. I can shave while you are finishing up." Leo says, as he grabs her hand and pulls her to his bathroom.

"Don’t get my hair wet, I don’t have anything with me to redo it. And we are just showering, there’s not time for any of your funny stuff." Margaret gives him a pointed look.

Leo feigns a hurt look. "You think my love making is funny?"

"No honey, but, you better keep your hands to yourself or we’ll never get out of this hotel room." She then adds, "not that that would be so bad." She really isn’t looking forward to having dinner at the White House.

Leo showers quickly and then steps out to shave. Margaret is getting out of the shower, just as Leo has finished shaving. Leo takes her in his arms and starts to kiss her.

"Honey, you’re getting shaving cream all over me." She laughs.

"Sorry, I just couldn’t resist holding your wet body against mine." Leo admits.

"You’re forgiven." She whispers in his ear.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Ok." Leo pulls from her arms, and finishes wiping the shaving cream off his face. They walk into his bedroom. Leo goes to his dresser and gets a pair of silk boxers and pulls them on. Then goes back to packing his overnight bag.

Margaret puts her clothes back on and sits back down on the bed. Her dress is a little more wrinkled than it was earlier, but it will have to do. "Honey, what did you mean earlier when you said that we don’t have a lot of time. We don’t have to be at the Residence until six o’clock and it’s just now, four-thirty."

Leo’s in the bathroom getting his toiletries bag and yells back. "I want to stop by the office first."

"I should have known you wanted to work, even on Christmas Day." She rolls her eyes.

Leo’s now standing in the bathroom doorway, still clad only in his boxers and looking very sexy. "I need to stop by and pick something up."

"Great. What report do you need me to retype on my home computer tonight?"

"I need to pick up your present. I left it there yesterday. I had planned on bringing it to you yesterday, but I sort of got distracted."

Margaret lowers her head. "Sorry."

Leo crosses the room and with his fingertips he slowly lifts her chin and makes her look into his eyes. "Don’t worry about it. Ok? If you hadn’t tried to resign, I may never have found the nerve to tell you that I love you." Leo gives her a widespread smile, the one that goes clear to his ears.

Margaret can’t help but smile back at Leo. She loves to see his smile. It’s one of the many things about him that drives her wild. "I’m glad you did."

"Me too!" Leo holds her chin for a few more seconds and then bends down and presses his lips to hers. He can lose himself very easily in her kisses. But he knows they need to be leaving soon, so he forces himself to pull away.

Leo goes to his closet to pick out a suit for tonight’s dinner. He chooses his double-breasted light gray pinstriped suit and his lavender tie. It perfectly matches Margaret’s dark gray evening dress. He lays his clothes on the bed and starts to get dressed. He notices Margaret stealing glances at him, as he changes clothes. He grabs his tie off the bed and heads for the bathroom mirror. Margaret gets off the bed and follows him and stands in the doorway.

"Yeah?" Leo says.

"Nothing, I just like to watch you tie your tie."

"Yeah."

"Yeah. I find it... extremely sexy."

"You’ve seen me tie my tie several times over the years that you’ve worked for me."

"Yeah."

"Have you always thought it to be sexy?" He motions to his tie with his hand.

"Yeah." She shyly admits. "Even before I fell in love with you."

"Well then, I’ll have to keep that in mind when I’m trying to think of a way to seduce you." Leo turns back to the mirror and finishes with his tie.

Leo leaves the bathroom and grabs his bag. "You ready?"

"I just need to reapply my makeup and fix my hair a little." She heads to the bathroom and is back out in just a few minutes.

"Margaret, you look stunning." He holds out his hand for her to take. "Ready to go now?"

"I guess. I just hope the lobby is still empty." She lowers her head and stares at Leo’s shoes. She’s even more nervous now about walking through the lobby, she’s afraid that she’ll have that ‘I just made love’ look on her face.

"You know, if I don’t call the parking attendant for my car. We can take the elevator all the way down to the garage and get it ourselves. That way we don’t have to walk through the lobby."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Come on, let’s go get my car." Leo takes her by the hand and drags her to his door. He turns, drops his bag and wraps his arms around her. "Baby, I love you."

"Oh Leo, I love you too!"

"Well, lets get going. We don’t want to miss out on any of the inane Christmas trivia." He smirks as he opens the door.

Leo’s Office:

5:00 pm

They enter the White House and head straight for Leo’s office. Leo enters his office while Margaret heads for her desk. She hasn’t been here in four days and wants to make sure that it’s still neat. After checking her desk area, she checks on her files. She wants to make sure that the temp didn’t mess them up. She checks a couple of drawers and is satisfied that things are in order. She wanders into Leo’s office and finds him behind his desk, sitting in his chair and staring at a wrapped gift on his desk.

"Leo?"

"Umm."

"What ya thinking about?" She moves over in front of his desk.

"I was just thinking that this present isn’t really what I want to give you for Christmas. I really wish I had a ring for you." Leo frowns at this statement.

"Honey, its fine. This way, we can go ring shopping together."

"Good idea, Margaret." He’s really looking forward to her wearing his ring.

"I have your present back at the apartment. Actually I have two for you."

"Really." His face lights up, like a little kid.

"Don’t get too excited, one of them, I made."

"I’m sure I’ll love whatever you got and made for me. Because I know that your presents come from your heart." Leo pauses for a second. "I actually went out and picked out your present, myself, this year." He says, with pride.

"Really?"

"Yeah. The President sent me home early Tuesday night and I stopped on the way home and picked it out."

"I think this is shaping up to be one of the best Christmases ever."

"Yeah, I think so too."

Margaret walks behind Leo’s desk and places a hand on his shoulder. She notices a picture of Leo and the Bartlets sitting on the shelves next to his desk.

"Leo, you never did tell me what Zoey said to you, yesterday morning."

Leo gets up and takes her hand and walks them over to his couch. They both sit down.

"Zoey overheard her Mom and Dad talking about us the night before last, so she decided, I needed a shove. She told me that during these past few months, she realized just how precious life is and that you shouldn’t listen to what others might say, about who you fall in love with. She told me, I needed to tell you that I loved you. She said that as soon as she heard her parents mention us as a possible couple, that she couldn’t believe how she how missed it before. She could see how we loved each other."

Margaret can’t help but start to cry. Zoey has been through so much and yet there she was trying to help someone else.

"Margaret, please don’t cry. I think Zoey showed great strength by coming and talking to me and I think it helped her just as much as it helped me. And maybe it helped her realize some things, too."

"Charlie?" She whispers.

Leo smiles and nods his head yes. "But don’t tell the President. He’ll be right back in the thick of things, trying to get those two kids back together again. It’s bad enough that he’s been playing Little Miss Mary Match Maker with me these past couple of days."

"Ok, I wouldn’t say anything to the Pres..." Margaret stops talking, when it sinks in that she will soon be with the President and the First Lady in the Residence.

"Baby, what’s wrong?"

"Oh Leo, I’m going to spending time with the President and the First Lady, inside the Residence, a place I’ve never even stepped foot in before." Margaret’s hands are fidgeting in her lap.

"Baby, you’ve talked with both of them many times before , you really shouldn’t be nervous."

"Yeah, but you were usually in the same room, or I just stepped in for a second or so. I don’t know what to talk to the President about or for that matter the First Lady."

"Yeah, like you think he’ll let us get in a word." Leo snorts. "He’ll be busy spouting Christmas trivia. That is, when he’s not busy interrogating us, about our relationship."

"But... you don’t think he’ll know that we... um... oh, no Leo, how am I going to face them both? What are they going to think about you dating your lowly assistance?" Margaret jumps up off the couch and starts pacing.

"Margaret, calm down. It’s going to be fine. I’ve known Jed and Abbey for over forty years. All they will care about is, if I’m happy. They both love you already. You’ll see, it will be fine." Leo follows Margaret from the couch and catches her in his arms. He wraps his arms around her waist and presses his lips to hers. After a few seconds, he leans back and gazes into her eyes. "Baby, don’t worry about it. Soon, this evening will be over and we will be back at your apartment opening, our gifts and planning our future."

Margaret relaxes in his arms and listens to his gravelly voice. She could listen to him talk for hours. His voice soothes away her nervousness. She got excited when he mentioned planning their future. "Leo, I can’t wait to get home tonight and plan our feature. We have so much to talk about. Are you planning on telling the President and First Lady that we’re getting married?"

"To tell you the truth, I hadn’t thought about it."

"What do you want to do?" Margaret asks.

"Honey, whatever you decide is fine with me. I don’t care if they know, but I’m not sure we should tell the whole staff, just yet." Leo wants to give Margaret time to adjust, to their new life together.

"Yeah, I think we should wait to tell the rest of the staff." Margaret agrees.

 "We will need to tell CJ soon, though." Leo wants CJ prepared to spin their relationship. He doesn’t want her to be caught off guard. Plus, he wants to protect Margaret.

"I’m fine with telling CJ." Margaret knows that CJ needs to be prepared, for when the story breaks.

"Well, let’s just see how the evening goes. If an opportune time presents itself, we’ll tell them." Leo knows that as soon as Jed finds out he’s getting married, his best friend will find all kinds of ways, to torment him.

"That sounds like a good idea to me."

Leo reaches down and takes her hand. "Well, let’s go. The sooner we get this evening over, the better."


	8. Christmas Without You 8

**Christmas Without You**

**by:[ AdoreLeo](mailto:rockfordfilesfan@aol.com)**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

Dec 25, 2003

Residence:

6:00 pm

Leo and Margaret leave his office and head for the entrance to the Residence. Margaret lets go of Leo’s hand the second they hit the hallway next to his office. She walks next to Leo, but at what she considers, to be an appropriate distance from him. Leo can’t help but grin at her precautions. They make their way to the elevator that will take them to the Residence. Margaret seems to be less nervous now than she was at the hotel.

They step into the elevator and Leo presses the proper button. As soon as the elevator doors close, Leo reaches over and gives Margaret’s arm a soothing rub. He lets his fingers trail done her arm, until they reach her hand. He takes her hand, raises it to her mouth and gives it a tender kiss. He would love to do more than just kiss her hand right now, but he’s aware that they are being watched by the Secret Service via the hidden camera in the elevator.  He knows that Margaret isn’t aware of this fact, but someday, she might find out. There would be hell to pay, if he mauled her in front of the Secret Service.

Leo assumes that the Secret Service already knows about them since, his life is under a constant, security microscope. Plus, there’s the fact that he saw an unmarked, black government Suburban SUV parked outside Margaret’s bedroom window last night. He had noticed it while they were enjoying themselves on her bay window seat. This little detail is something that he plans on thoroughly debating with Jed. Leo’s certain that the President sent an agent to watch over him, after he left his office yesterday to go to Margaret’s apartment. He shouldn’t  be surprised to find out that Jed had him followed. Leo understands and appreciates why his best friend felt he needed to protect him, but this still doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy watching Jed squirm, while he deliberates this issue with him.

Just as the elevator starts to slow, Leo gets a pang of nervousness. He’s only been to the Residence once, since Abbey’s return from the farm and she hadn’t seemed too happy with him interrupting, their family’s pre-Christmas dinner. He has only seen her a hand full of times since her return. Whenever possible, he makes himself scarce when she’s in the West Wing. The first time he saw her since he interrupted their dinner, was yesterday when, out of the blue, she dropped by his office to discuss his feelings for Margaret. She seemed warmer towards him that afternoon.  Then, later in the day when he had passed out, she seemed genuinely concerned about him. But, he still can’t help but feel uneasiness about seeing her again, especially here in the Residence, the place, that she had told him that he was no longer welcome.

The elevator doors open to reveal Secret Service Agent Cooper standing in the hallway.  He’s the same agent that Leo saw peering out a half opened window of the Suburban, late last night. Leo feels a slight blush rise on his face and he can’t help but grin.

"Mr. McGarry, Miss McGuire, the President is waiting for you both in the private Living Room." Coop says, as he motions for them to continue on down the hall.

"Thanks, Coop." Leo places a hand in the small of Margaret’s back and guides her towards the room.

They enter the living room and find the President standing by the large window with, his back to them.

"Mr. President." Leo says, to get his attention.

Jed spins around and walks towards them. "Margaret, Leo, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Sir." Leo and Margaret say, in unison.

Jed shakes Leo’s hand and places his other hand on Margaret’s arm. "It’s so nice that you could join us this evening. If I’m not mistaken, Margaret, this is your first time in the Residence."

"Yes, Sir, it is." Margaret softly replies.

"Margaret, please try and relax, it’s just a place to sleep and eat. Although, I’m really not to sure about the sleeping part."

"Yes, Sir, I’ll try."

"Did you know that the bed in the Residence was hand carved and made from the rarest of woods and was a gift..."

Leo’s groan at the start of the inane trivia, stops Jed from continuing. "Sir."

"Leo, unlike you, I’m sure that Margaret is very interested in the history of the Residence." Jed smirks. "Aren’t you Margaret?"

Before she can answer, Leo speaks up. "Yeah, having not heard Residence trivia a hundred times before, I’m sure she is, Sir." Leo says, sarcastically.

Margaret is standing there, nodding her head yes.

"Well then, Margaret, how about a tour and some more interesting facts?"

"That would be nice, Sir," Margaret says, in a little bit more relaxed voice. She’s enjoying watching Leo and the President pick on each other. This is something that she’s usually not privy to.

"Leo, since you seem intent on spoiling my history lesson on the Residence, I believe Abbey wants you to join her in the Sitting Room, for some coffee." Jed’s face turns ever so slightly serious, for a second. Then he smiles at Margaret. "Margaret, let’s get this show on the road." He places a hand in the small of her back to get her moving towards the door.

As Margaret is leaving with the President, she glances back at Leo. She doesn’t like what she sees. Leo’s face has turned somewhat ashen and his stance appears enervated.  She gives him a concerned look.

Leo tries to put on a believable smile for her. "You’re in good hands, Margaret. I’ll see you in a bit." He says, in a voice that is trying to convince her that he’s all right.

Leo watches as Margaret and Jed leave the room. ‘Oh God help me, the Sitting Room, I haven’t been there since the meeting with Abbey, on the Fourth of July’, he thinks to himself. A shiver runs down his spine at the thought of what transpired, during that meeting. He notices, that his hands have become shaky, in the last few seconds and he feels slightly lightheaded. His body is reacting to all the stress he has experienced these past few months or maybe even years. He’s suddenly very tired, almost exhausted, as he stands there for a few seconds, collecting himself. He adjusts his tie, straightens his shoulders and heads towards to door. His customary rolling gait is somewhat impaired by his emerging limp, an unremitting painful reminder of a time and place that he would like to forgot, that often occurs when he’s overly tired or stressed.

Leo enters the Sitting Room and finds Abbey perched on the couch that faces away from the door. He stops dead in his tracks. He can’t stop the feeling of panic that starts creeping through his body. His heart starts beating faster and he begins to perspire. He tells himself ‘Come on McGarry, calm down! You fought in a war damnit!’ as he makes his journey over to the chair that sits adjacent to the couch. He hovers behind the chair.

"Abbey." His voice cracks, as he says her name.

Abbey turns towards his voice and takes in his appearance. She’s immediately concerned by his stance. "Leo." She motions for him to sit in the chair in front of him.

He shuffles around to the front of the chair and starts to undo the buttons on his suit coat. After several seconds of trying, he finally gets the buttons unfastened on his double-breasted coat. He hesitates for a few seconds in front of the chair and then finally, sits down.

Abbey is studying Leo while he’s preparing to sit down. She can’t help but notice, the shaky hands that are desperately trying to unbutton his coat. Now that he has moved closer to her, she can see that there is moisture on his brow. She reaches out and lays a hand on his leg. "Leo?"

Leo flinches at the touch of her hand and whips his head towards hers. "Yeah?"

"What wrong?" Abbey’s voice is full of concern.

"Um.. Nothing." He says, in the best voice that he can manage.

"Leo?"

"I’m fine." He states, using one of his patented Leo McGarry lines.

"No, you’re not Leo McGarry! You’re shaking like a leaf and sweating like a... I don’t know what!"

Then it hits her. ‘How could she be so insensitive? How could she have forgotten? This is the room that she had gone ballistic on him. He’s sitting in the same chair he was that day she told him she didn’t want him in the Residence. She had accused him of leaving her and her daughters out there and unknowing of existing trouble. She told him, not to ask her to trust him, again’. He’s obviously having a severe anxiety attack, at least she hopes that’s all it is. She gets up and rests a hand on his shoulder and reaches down and grabs his hand.

"Oh, Leo, I’m so sorry.  I don’t know what I was thinking. I never even gave it a second thought about meeting with you, in here." She pulls on his hand. "Come over here and sit with me on the couch." She practically hauls him over onto the couch. "Leo, listen to me, you’re having an anxiety attack. You need to slow your breathing down and breath more deeply!" She puts a hand to the side of his face and she tries to reassure him, that he’s ok. "Sweetie, you’re shaky because of the adrenaline. Please just try and calm down. " She says, as she loosens his tie and unbuttons, the top button of, his shirt.

Leo looks at her with a confused look on his face and tear filled eyes. His whole body is trembling now. His breath is coming in pants and his chest is aching. He’s starting to think that he’s having a heart attack. He grasps at his shirt and tries to pull it away from his chest. He feels the need to get up and run out of the room, but his legs don’t seem to have any strength left in them. The tears start to make their way down his face and fall freely onto his shirt. His thoughts turn to Margaret. He needs his Margaret. "Margaret..." He pants out, while his teary eyes plead with Abbey. "I need her... please!"

Abbey reaches for the phone on the coffee table. "Find my husband and have him bring Margaret the Sitting Room now!" She turns back to Leo. "Leo, Margaret will be here soon. Come on Leo, you need to slow down your breathing. Take some big deep breaths." She starts taking big deep breaths with him in an effort to help Leo. "Come on Sweetie, breathe with me."

Abbey is still in the process of trying to get Leo to take deep breaths, when Jed and Margaret appear at the doorway. Margaret takes one look at Leo and runs to his side. She’s appalled at the shape he’s in. She looks at Abbey. "What the hell did you do to him?"

Abbey is shocked at Margaret’s outburst. "He’s having an anxiety attack. He needs to..."

Margaret interrupts her before she can finish. "I’ll take care of him, you’ve done enough already."

Abbey gets up and rushes to Jed’s waiting arms.

"Abbey, is he going to be ok?" Jed asks, his wife.

"He’s having an anxiety attack, but he should be ok, if we can get him to calm down, soon." Abbey says, as she looks into her husband’s eyes, pleading for his understanding. "Oh Jed, I wasn’t thinking, by having our discussion in here. This room is where I told him that I didn’t trust him and that he was no longer welcome in the Residence." Abbey starts sobbing and lays her head on her husband’s shoulder.

Jed is taken back by what she has just confessed to him. No wonder Leo is like a cat on a hot tin roof, whenever Abbey is near. But he knows his wife; Abbey would never purposely try and hurt him today, by meeting with him, in this room. She had told him that she was going to fix whatever was wrong between Leo and her.  He starts stroking her hair. "Shhh, Abbey, I know and we’ll explain it to Margaret when she calms down. She’s just scared right now. Shhh, it’s going to be ok."

Margaret is sitting next to Leo. She has one hand on his leg and the other one is rubbing small circles on his back, trying to calm him down. "Leo, it’s ok, I’m here. Please Honey, you need to try and calm yourself down and control your breathing."

Leo looks into her eyes and sees love and concern in them. He nods his head in agreement and starts to try and control his breathing. After a couple of minutes of slow deep breathing, his heart is no longer racing, as fast as it was, before she showed up. The pain in his chest is now receding. He reaches out with his hand and grabs her hand that is resting on his leg. He’s finally able to speak.

"I’m fine." He says, with a wry grin.

"Leo McGarry, you most certainly are not." Margaret snorts back at him.

Leo continues to graze into her eyes.  He has lost that ‘flight to fear’ feeling and is really starting to feel a lot better. "I’m fine." He repeats, as he sighs deeply.

This time, Margaret realizes that he’s feeling better. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Oh Leo, you scared me." She puts her arms around him and pulls him close. "Leo, I love you," she whispers in his ear.

Leo pulls from her arms and gazes into her brilliant eyes. "I love you, too." He turns for the first time towards Jed and Abbey and then looks back at Margaret. "Baby, Abbey did nothing too me. I started to panic the second Jed told me that she wanted to talk to me, in this room. She didn’t realize how being in here again, would affect me." He reaches up and places a hand on her face.

It suddenly, all sinks in with Margaret. She yelled at the First Lady, not once but twice! She immediately turns red and jumps up, off the couch. She faces Abbey. Margaret is wringing her hands. "Oh, Mrs. Bartlett, I’m so sorry I yelled at you, I... it’s... Oh, I’m so sorry." She lowers he head and starts to cry. Leo grabs her hand and pulls her down next to him. She leans her head against his shoulder and sobs in embarrassment.

Abbey immediately speaks up. "Margaret, I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ve made things worse and all I wanted, to do, was to tell Leo that I was wrong to accuse him of the things that I did. I was upset and lashed out to whomever I could hurt. I knew by hurting Leo, I would also hurt Jed. I’m sorry, I was just so distraught over Zoey’s kidnapping." She turns to face Leo. " Leo, can you ever... please, forgive me? I didn’t even think of how this room might hold such bad memories for you. I ..."

Leo slowly gets up off the couch and starts towards Abbey. Abbey pulls from her husband’s arms and goes to Leo. Leo hugs Abbey. "Abbey it’s ok, I understand. I would have been out of my head if it had been Mallory." He plants a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Don’t worry about it. You had no way of knowing that I’ve been have anxiety attacks for a while now." Leo didn’t mean for this last bit of information to leave his mouth. He releases Abbey and heads for the safety of the other side of the room where Jed is standing. Because he knows that all hell is about to break loose.

"Leo!" Margaret says, as she gets up from the couch. "How long has this been going on?" Margaret is back in full-blown mother hen mode.

Abbey joins in on the assault, as well. "Yes, Mr. McGarry just how long have you been covering up this problem?"

Jed looks at his friend. "Leo, it looks like it’s time to fess up and take your medicine." Jed’s just glad that he, for a change, is not on the receiving end of Dr. Bartlet’s attention.

"I’ve been having them since... um since, the night Zoey was rescued." Leo awaits the onslaught.

"Leo!" Both women yell in unison and then they simultaneously cross their arms against their chests.

Leo shakes his head at the sight of these two determined woman standing in front of him. One of which he had known for almost forty years and he loves like a sister. The other one has; covered for him, protected him, cared for him and worked for him for over 12 years now. Somewhere along the line, she has fallen in love with him and she has stolen his heart, too. He couldn’t be happier, except he’d like to escape this situation with his skin intact. So he decides that the best defense is a good offense. He turns to Jed and as naively as he can manage, says. "Jed, did Margaret tell you that we’re getting married?"

The look on Jed’s face is priceless. "Really?" Jed squeals.

"Yeah." Leo looks at Margaret, who is blushing now and has dropped her arms to her side. He looks over at Abbey, who has also dropped her arms and she’s sweetly smiling at them.

Jed steps up to Leo with his hand extended. "Congratulations, you, old man.  You couldn’t find a better suited person for you than Margaret."

Leo shakes the offered hand. "Yeah, I’m very lucky."

Jed walks over to Margaret and gives her a hug. "Margaret, I’m so happy for you. I know he really loves you and I know you love him, too!"

"Yes, Sir."  Margaret says, shyly.

Abbey turns to Margaret. "Oh Margaret. Congratulations! You’re going to have your hands full taking care of him, but then again, you’ve taken care of him for years!"

Abbey walks over to Leo, gives him a hug and then whispers in his ear. "Leo if you screw this up, I’m gonna personally kick your ass." She leans back from his ear and in a louder voice she says, "Leo you are a lucky man to find this kind of love, take care of her. She’s the best thing that has happened to you, in a long time!"

All Leo can do is nod his head in agreement. He’s afraid if he speaks that his voice will betray his emotions and that the tears will leave his eyes. He thinks that there have been enough tears spilled, these past few days.

Margaret walks over to Leo, drapes her arms around his neck and kisses the area above his left eyebrow. The same brow that droops whenever he’s overtired, overtaxed, overworked, overwrought or overextended. So, it’s almost a permanent fixture on his face, these past few months. She slides her right hand down his back and rubs the small of his back. Her other hand searches out his hand and clasps it tightly. She whispers in his ear that she loves him. Then she squares her shoulders and continues down the path of questioning his health.

"A, for effort Leo, but I still want to know about these anxiety attacks you’ve been having."

"Margaret!" He really thought that he might have derailed her from the subject. He should know better, that when it comes to him, she’s relentless.

"Leo!" She mimics back.

Leo fixes his eyes on Margaret. He really doesn’t want to expose her to his newest weakness, she’s already aware of so many. He really thought that he could control it or that it would just go away, on it’s own. He’s been down this road before with his addictions, so he should have realized that it doesn’t work this way. Lately his attacks have augmented in frequency and intensity. He hates feeling vulnerable, he hates asking for help and he knows that the first thing Margaret’s going to say is, that he needs to get some help. She’ll probably insist on calling Dr. Stanley Keyworth, who’s almost become a permanent member of the White House Staff.

Leo slowly turns his gaze towards Jed and Abbey. He has already caused them so much heartache. They were there during his darkest days of his addictions. They put up with so much from him, during that time. Then, there are all the issues surrounding Jed being the President. Leo’s the one who convinced him to run. He’s the one who got him into this mess and look how that’s turned out. Jed was shot and his MS was revealed to the world. Abbey has given up her medical license and her identity. Their marriage has been pushed to it’s limits several times. The biggest blow they have suffered was almost losing their youngest child. Leo works so hard to protect and shield his friend from any unnecessary turmoil, but he has been unsuccessful at sheltering him from so many things and now he feels he’s about to fail him, again.

"Leo, why do you always try to go through everything by yourself?" His best friend asks. "Let us help you."

Margaret takes him by the hand and leads him over to one of the couches. Jed and Abbey follow and sit down on the opposite couch. Leo is sitting with his hands clasped, his forearms resting on his legs and with his head down, staring at his shoes. He raises his face and glances at his friends and then to Margaret.

"I received the news of Zoey’s rescue while down in the Sit Room. The second I took the call, my heart started racing and there was a pounding in my ears. At first, we didn’t have a lot of details, so I wasn’t sure what to expect once we arrived at the site. The helicopter ride there, was difficult for me. I felt that I shouldn’t even be on board, since I was the one who... was responsible for Zoey’s kid..." Leo stops. Even after all these months, he still can’t bring himself to say that word out loud. "But, I had to see her with my own two eyes. I had to see that she was, ok. The site was crazy, lights flashing everywhere, noise from the helicopters overhead, people yelling in my ear, and all I wanted to do was see Zoey’s face. I never even got within 30 feet of her, I couldn’t. How could I look her in the eye, after what I had done to her? Since the copter was taking Zoey to the hospital, I used that as an excuse to get a ride back to White House." Leo pauses and tries to collect his thoughts.

"I went straight to my office, but as soon as I walked in the door, I felt like it the room was closing in on me. I had a sudden and unexplained urge to run from the room. My heart was racing, my chest was aching and I was feeling lightheaded. I started for my couch, but when I got beside the table, I had to stop and grab a hold of it’s edge. I felt like I was going to pass out, my knees started to buckle. Just then, Fitz walked into my office. He had come to see how Zoey was doing. He rushed to my side and steadied me, then helped me to the couch. He wanted to call the medic on duty, but I convinced him that I was ok, that it was just a burst of adrenaline from all the excitement. We sat for a while discussing how something similar had happened to each of us, during the war." Leo stops and stares at his hands.

"Leo, that was a reasonable reaction to what happened that day. But, you’ve had other attacks, besides the one today, haven’t you?"  Abbey ponders.

Leo nods his head yes, but doesn’t raise his head.

Margaret just stares at Leo. She’s flabbergasted that he has been able to hide these attacks from her. "Did you have anymore at work?"

Once again, Leo nods his head, yes. He gradually turns his head towards Margaret. He can’t tell if the look on her face is one of trepidation, or one of slight infuriation, since he successfully hid something from her, at work. He decides, that it’s probably a little of both.

"Have you been having these attacks on a regular basis?" Abbey’s sure she knows part of the reason why he has them, but she needs more details.

"Not really. I had maybe... um... three or four since the first one." He’s doesn’t want to tell Abbey that one of his worst attacks occurred in this very room, after she had told him that she didn’t want him, in the Residence. It took all of his fiber to conceal his attack from her. After she left, he sat in that chair for a long time trying to regain control. He had a small one when he retrieved the President from the Residence Dinning Room during the family pre-Christmas dinner. But, the attack that bothers him the most occurred because of a phone call he had to make to her. It was during the Government Shutdown. He had run out of ideas on how to deal with the President, so he did the only thing he could do. He called the one person who knew how to handle Jed, better anybody else, Abbey. Leo had started to lose control the second he touched the phone. The man who is described by many as world-class political operative, panicked over a fucking phone call! There had been several others one too, but Leo doesn’t want them to know about all of them. If they knew, he was sure that he would be getting a visit from Dr. Keyworth.

 

"Do those numbers reflect the ones you had yesterday and today?"

"No." Leo murmurs. He decides to stop postponing the inevitable and just give Abbey most of the details, at least about the attacks that he was willing to admit to having. "I had one at my hotel a couple of nights ago and a slight one yesterday afternoon. You already know about the one I had after I received Margaret’s resignation letter. That was the only time I actually passed out."

Margaret starts to shed tears when he mentions the letter. She feels terrible to have caused Leo, the man she’s protected for a good portion of her adult life, so much pain. "Leo, I’m so sorry I caused you so much suffering yesterday."

"Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter, since I have you now. Are you done being mad that I was able to hide something from you at work?"

`"Yeah." She nodded, and turned grateful eyes to him.`

`"Ok." He places a weary hand on her leg. "Anything else Abbey?"`

"Leo, how much sleep are you getting each night." Abbey is now in full-blown doctor mode.

"Enough." Leo flatly states.

"Yeah, right!" Margaret snorts.

"Margaret!" Leo snaps.

"What?" Her mood quickly changes. Leo’s lack of sleep has always been a sore spot with her. He has sacrificed far too much for this administration.

"Baby, Please stop." Leo requests.

"No, I don’t think I will." Margaret rarely goes against Leo’s wishes. But she wants the President and Abbey to know of Leo’s self-sacrificing acts. "Did you know that during the whole time that Zoey was being held; he never left the White House, other than one late night meeting? He only took a couple of naps, which he was forced to take. He survived on coffee and a few bites of food, which practically had to be shoved, down his throat! He bounced from meeting to meeting between President Bartlet and President Walken. He tried to look after his country’s best interests and the best interests of his friend. It nearly tore him in two!"

 

Jed glances at his wife and they exchange a knowing look. They both know who was forcing Leo to sleep and eat. It was the same person who has taken care of him for over twelve years, Margaret.

"Margaret stop!" Leo says, in a voice that is starting to show his famous temper.

"No, they have the right to know what you’ve been going through. I won’t stand by anymore and watch you kill yourself, little by little."

Leo jumps up off the couch. "You won’t? Does that mean you going to leave me? Just like you said you were going to yesterday, in your letter of resignation." The look on Leo’s face has gone from anger to fear. His father abandoned him. He lost several friends in the war. He drove Jenny away, Abbey had rejected his friendship, and Margaret had tried to resign. Was she now going to leave him, too? Would Jed be next? Leo heads for the door. He can’t take anymore of this.

"Leo! Sit back down." Jed says using his best presidential voice.

Leo reluctantly stops and turns to face his friend.

"Leo, you will not be mad at Margaret, she loves you and is only trying to help you. You need to stop thinking that you can handle everything by yourself." Jed says, in a very firm voice.

Leo slowly glances at Margaret. She has gotten off the couch and is heading his way.

"Leo, I’m not going to leave you, I only meant that I wouldn’t let work destroy you. I won’t leave you. I promise."

"I’m sorry, I yelled I’m... sorry for what I said, about you leaving me. It’s just..." Leo doesn’t want to tell her that he’s afraid that he will end up all alone, someday.

"Leo, I’m sorry, I just can’t stand to see you suffer so much." Margaret’s voice is softened with tears.

Seeing her cry, for him, is Leo’s undoing. "Margaret, I’m the one who’s sorry, I love you, please forgive me." Margaret bobs her head up and down and Leo takes her in his arms.

Abbey gives them a few seconds to gather themselves. They have gone back to the couch and are sitting down. She then asks her next question. "Leo, is there anything that usually triggers these attacks?"

Leo nods his head yes.

"What triggers them?"

Leo faintly whispers, "You and... Margaret." He refuses to look either one of them in the eye.

"Me?" Margaret says, in disbelief.

"I suspected that I was one of them, after today’s attack." Abbey is saddened by this fact. "Leo, I can’t tell you how sorry I am for what happened between us. I hope you can forgive me."

"Abbey, I already have." Leo whispers and his raises his head and looks at her. "I’m sure it won’t be an issue with me again."

"I think you’re right, Leo. Are you nervous around me right now?"

"No."

"Good. Leo, why do you think Margaret makes you have them?" Asks Abbey.

"It’s not Margaret’s presence that causes them, it’s... when she’s not around." Leo turns and looks into Margaret’s eyes. "When you weren’t at work this week, I started having them more often. You keep me grounded, Margaret. It was not seeing you that had an affect on me."

"Oh Leo, that’s probably the sweetest thing anybody has ever said to me." Margaret is still worried about Leo.

Leo can tell by Margaret’s face, what she’s thinking. "Baby, You don’t need to worry. I’m sure things are better now. It’s just that this week, I thought I was going to lose you and it was just making the current situation worse."

"Yeah?"  Margaret asks.

"Yeah."  Leo answers.

"Ok." She states.

"Ok." Leo replies. It feels good to be doing their normal banter back and forth again.

Leo turns back to Abbey. "I know that things are better between us now, but that still doesn’t help with my guilt."

"Leo, What guilt?" Jed asks.

"Jed, I’m the one who convinced you that we should kill Shareef. You said there were moral absolutes, but I kept pushing and pushing you. It’s my fault that Zoey was..."

"No." Zoey gasps. All four heads whip towards the direction of the interruption. Unbeknownst to the room’s occupants, she has been standing there in the doorway, with Charlie, since her father asked Leo about his guilt. Zoey walks into the room and sits down next to Leo. She takes his hand and holds it between hers.

"Oh Uncle Leo, it was not your fault that I was kidnapped. It’s not Dad’s fault, it’s not Charlie’s fault, it’s not the Secret Service’s fault and it’s not my fault." Her eyes have been circling the room, searching out each individual and pleading with them as she makes her point. "It was an act of terrorists, you can’t control them or predict what they might do. Shareef was a bad man. Dad and Leo did want the country needed them to do." Zoey stands and continues her declaration. "It happened, we can’t change that. I’m learning how to deal with it and I need you to start dealing with it too. It’s time to ‘Move On’." She smiles and gazes at her honorary uncle, who has a proud grin on his face. Leo's grin is twofold: First, he's so proud of how Zoey is handling the whole situation. Second, her use of his most often used pet phrase, 'Move on Mr. President!', that he verbalizes to her father, on almost a daily basis.

Jed and Abbey get up from the couch and go to their daughter. They engulf her in a huge joint hug. They stand there quietly for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the silence and each other’s arms.

"Zoey, I’m so proud of you and I love you." Her father breaks the silence.

"Baby, I love you. You bring us such joy." Abbey says, while stroking Zoey’s hair."

Leo and Margaret are holding hands and watching this tender scene. Margaret lays her head on his shoulder. "Oh Leo, I think things are going to be ok."

"Yeah." Leo whispers back to his fiancée. He gives her a gentle kiss on her cheek. Margaret returns his kiss on his cheek and then presses her lips on his. They forget where they’re at and the kisses start to turn more passionate.

"Hey you two, just because you’re getting married, doesn’t give you the right to make out in front of my daughter." Jed’s figures it’s time to start tormenting his best friend.

"What!" Zoey ask. "Are you two getting married?"

"Yeah!" Leo and Margaret both reply at the same time. Margaret’s face has a slight flush to it and Leo’s face is covered with his boyish impish grin.

"Congratulations." Zoey says, as she goes over to them.

Leo and Margaret stand and trade hugs with Zoey. "Thanks." They reply.

"Hey, isn’t there suppose to be a dinner here tonight?" Jed asks, as he turns to the young man in the doorway. "Charlie, you’re planning on joining us, aren’t you?"

Charlie looks at Zoey, for approval. "Yes, he is. I’m not going to be the only one stuck here listening to inane Christmas Trivia!" Zoey softly laughs.

Charlie nods his head and sarcastically says, "Yes, Sir, You know I just can’t get enough of your trivial."

"Charlie, I’m sure you meant to say the word trivia instead of trivial. Right?" Jed states to his body man.

"I’m not sure Sir. Which one describes the key particulars, important facts, vital information and critical details that you so graciously provide us, on a daily basis?" Charlie asks.

"Trivia." Jed says, with a smile on his face. He knew that Charlie would be on his side and wouldn’t let him down.

"Ok, then I meant the other one, Sir." Charlie smirks.

Leo is the first to burst out laughing and everyone else quickly follows his lead. Even the President laughs.

Jed is the first to regain control. "Let’s go see if dinner is ready." He offers his arm to Abbey and she takes it and they lead the way out of the room. Leo offers his arm to Margaret and they trail the other couple. Charlie shyly walks up to Zoey and extends his arm; she gladly takes it as they too, make their way out of the room.


	9. Christmas Without You 9

**Christmas Without You**

**by:[ AdoreLeo](mailto:rockfordfilesfan@aol.com)**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

Dec 25, 2003

Residence:

6:00 pm

The couples enter the dinning room. Jed walks Abbey to one end of the table, pulls out her chair, stands behind it, waits for her to sit, then pushes her up to the table. The other couples follow his lead and seat their ladies at the table and then sit down beside them. Margaret and Zoey are sitting across the table from each other, down by Abbey’s end of the table. Leo and Charlie are positioned the same way, next to Jed. The table is beautifully set with Abbey’s favorite Christmas china and silver.  The candelabra centerpiece is alight and dressed with fresh pine garland and red and white poinsettia leaves. The room itself looks like a Currier & Ives picture.

Earlier, when Margaret and Leo walked arm and arm into the room, he couldn’t help but be reminded of the last time he was in this room. The room itself, the table settings and the room’s Christmas decorations, looked exactly the same as it did that night that he had to come get the President from their pre-Christmas family dinner. He paused hesitantly hesitated before he entered the room that night, because he was unsure of how his presence would be received by Abbey. She had given him a rather pointed look, but had not said much to him that night. He had only been slightly lightheaded and his hands were a little on the shaky side, but he managed to stand there and talk with the President about the Attorney General. Thank God they left right away, because he’s not sure how he would have reacted had they stayed there, for a while.

Leo breathes a soft sigh of relief as he sits down beside Margaret. He made it into the room and sat down without any hint of a panic attack. He was a little worried that he might have another attack, like the last time he was in this room. That attack had been small, but he still worries that since he’s had one here before, that the episode might repeat itself tonight.

Margaret senses that Leo’s a little worried about something. She places a hand on his leg and gives it a gentle squeeze. "You ok?" She inquires in a soft voice that is loud enough for just Leo to hear.

"Yeah." He replies, as he pats her hand that’s on his lap.

Abbey’s POV:

Abbey watches Leo and Margaret, as they exchange whispers. She’s still really worried about Leo, because she suspects that Leo has had more attacks than he admitted to earlier. She watched him closely as he seated Margaret and then sat down himself. Leo seemed almost relieved when he sat down at the table. She’s going to have a talk with Margaret after dinner and discuss some of her concerns about Leo. She’s surprised that Leo has been able to hide his panic attacks from Margaret, a feat that Abbey didn’t think was possible. If Leo’s anxiety problem doesn’t improve soon, she’s going to call Stanley or maybe she should anyway. Having a few anxiety attacks after a stressful situation is not really too much of a concern, but if he continues to have them, it could be an indication of a more serious problem. It could be any number of things, but she’s not a specialist in that area, like Stanley is. She also needs to get Leo to go in for a physical, she’s not sure when he had his last one, but if she had to guess, it has been probably at least a couple of years, since his last one. This is other item of interest that she is planning to discuss with Margaret after dinner.

Abbey glances across the table at her husband, who also seems to be watching Leo, and Margaret too. Her husband gives her a smile. Abbey knows that he’s happy that Leo and she have worked things out between them, and she can’t help but smile back at him, and at the way that Leo’s been acting around Margaret. She hasn’t seen him act like that in years and even then, it was very rare. But then again, Leo had hidden his attacks from Margaret; a feat that Abbey didn’t think was possible.

Abbey’s surprised to learn some of the things that Leo has been going through these past few months. But, she isn’t surprised to find out that Margaret has been taking care of him during all of it. Those two have been quite a team, for years. She had noticed a change between them after the shooting. If she were to guess, that’s probably around the time that Margaret figured out that she was in love with Leo. Abbey also suspects that Margaret has probably been in love with Leo for years, but she was oblivious of her feelings towards Leo, until the shooting.

Abbey’s sure that Jed has a lot of questions for Leo and she has some for Margaret, too. Somehow, they’re going to separate them and find out some details about what’s going on between them. Abbey grins at the thought of Leo squirming, under Jed’s probing questions, about his up and coming wedding. She’d love to witness that. For the first time, since her husband has taken office, she’s hoping for something to happen, so that it will take Jed and Leo away for a while. Judging by the look on her husband’s face, she’s sure that he has something up his sleeve.

Abbey takes a quick look at Charlie. He, too, is watching the couple directly across the table from him. That is, whenever he isn’t a stealing glances at Zoey. Abbey remembers the distraught look on Charlie’s face when she arrived at Leo’s office last night after Leo had passed out. She knows that Charlie really likes and respects Leo and probably considers him a father figure like Charlie regards her husband. She’s sure that Charlie was worried that they were going to lose another member of the administration and his surrogate family, when Leo collapsed. She’s thinks that Charlie’s probably aware of everything that’s going on with Leo, because he’s too close to the situation to have missed all the problems Leo’s been having with the staff, Jed and even herself.

Charlie’s been through a lot in his young life; losing his mother, the shooting, the dead of Mrs. Landingham, a woman who was a surrogate mother to him and then Zoey’s kidnapping. Charlie had refused to leave Jed’s side throughout the whole kidnapping ordeal. Abbey also suspects that, between Leo and Charlie, they probably received the blunt of Jed’s ill humor, after she had taken Zoey away to the farm.

Abbey hopes that maybe Charlie and Zoey can find some way to become close again. Even if it’s just as good friends, Charlie’s such a good influence on Zoey and he’s been one of the few people who hasn’t coddled her since her rescue and still treats her the same as he did before. She knows that Charlie stills love Zoey because she has witnessed him shamelessly pursue Zoey while she had been dating that, ‘frog of a, prince’. Abbey notices that Jed’s watching Charlie too. ‘Oh God help that poor boy’, she almost says out loud, if Jed gets it in his head, to try and play matchmaker.

Jed’s POV:

Jed watches Leo and Margaret as they exchange whispers and then glances at his wife, who seems to be doing the same thing that he is. He’s very happy that Abbey and Leo have made amends, and hopefully, he will get to see more of Leo after hours from now on. But, seeing the expression on Leo’s face, and the way he looks at Margaret, tells him that he may be seeing even less of his best friend.

Jed noticed that Leo seemed relieved when he sat down at the table. Jed’s not sure what to expect from Leo in this situation, because he’s really never known anyone that has had anxiety attacks before; at least he doesn’t think he has. But, then again, Leo’s been having them for months and he had even fooled his best friend. When had they become so distant, that Jed couldn’t tell how Leo was feeling or know what he was going through?

These past few months have been hell for everyone involved. Jed had put Leo in a terrible position, and when he had told people that, ‘Leo would know what to do’ and at first, during the kidnapping, Leo knew exactly what to do and was relentless at his job. Jed was shocked to find out that Leo had hardly slept or eaten during it all. He’s just now fully realizing what an arduous spot he’d put his best friend in, while Walken was President, and during the months that followed.

Some senior staff members have just recently come to talk with him about Leo and tell him of their concerns about him. They hadn’t come forward sooner because Leo had been shielding him from the staff, and most of them were upset with Leo about how he had been acting and treating them lately. But the past few weeks, after the government shutdown, things were starting to get back to normal. Josh, CJ and even Toby had mentioned something about Leo in the past few days. At first, Jed was concerned that maybe it had all been too much for him and he had fallen into old habits. But before he got a chance to talk with Leo about it, he walked into his office last night just in time to witness Leo pass out.

Jed’s happy that Leo has finally found someone who is perfectly so suited for him, and he still can’t believe how he missed the feelings between Leo and Margaret. He can’t wait to get Leo off by himself tonight to find out what’s going on with them. He can’t believe they’re getting married this quickly, but Leo has never been one to go slowly when he makes up his mind. Jed decides that he’s going to have to come up with some reason to get Leo alone tonight and he knows that Abbey wants to talk with Margaret too, so that should make it easier. But he’s not sure if he can get Leo to leave Margaret’s side, so the excuse is going to have to be job related.

Jed watches as Charlie gives Leo a worried glance. Jed suspects that Charlie considers Leo another father figure, he knows that Charlie thinks of him that way and this knowledge makes him smile. Charlie was quick to action last night when Jed had yelled for him from Leo’s office. Not since the night of Zoey’s kidnapping, has Jed seen such a panicked look that was on Charlie’s face when he rushed into the office and saw Leo’s lifeless body on the floor.

Jed will never forget the loyalty that Charlie displayed during that entire nightmare of Zoey’s kidnapping. Charlie never left his side and has he been on of the few people that Zoey seems to open up to. He looks again at his young body man and notices that he’s shyly watching Zoey. Jed hopes that Zoey and he can become close again. He’d really like it if they starting dating again. Maybe he could find a way to help that situation along. He glances down at his wife, who’s giving him that ‘Stay out of it Jethro’ look and he frowns in her direction. Jed thinks that maybe he can get Charlie to help him get Leo out of the room after dinner and grins at the prospect.

Zoey’s POV:

Zoey’s been watching her parents exchange glances and she’s so glad to see them smiling at each other, and hopes that things will now start to get back to normal between them. They’d made up somewhat before this, but now she can see that they are both happier that the conflict between Leo and her mom has been resolved. Zoey wasn’t aware of the rift between her Mother and Leo, but then again, she had been away at the farm most of the time since her rescue. She’d have to ask Charlie later about what’s been going on while she’s been away.

Zoey’s amazed at the love she sees between Leo and Margaret. She’d never seen Leo kiss Jenny the way that he was kissing Margaret earlier. Margaret’s definitely good for Leo.  He really deserves to find some happiness, after all that he has been through since her Father took office. She hopes that Margaret will get him to start taking better care of himself. When she dropped by his office to talk to him yesterday, she was surprised at how his clothes hung off of him. He’s lost a lot of weight since she went away to the farm and she feels guilty that her kidnapping probably had a lot to do with the shape that he’s in. She knows that she shouldn’t’ blame herself, but it’s hard not to feel responsible for it all.

Zoey takes a quick glimpse at Charlie and finds him staring back at her, so she gives him a small grin. She’s so glad to have Charlie as a friend. He’s been great during this whole ordeal and he’s one of the few people who doesn’t treated her with kid gloves, since she got back from the farm. She wonders if there might still be a chance for them. She glances over to her Father and sees that he has been watching her and Charlie. She can tell what’s on her Father’s mind, poor Charlie is really in for it, later tonight, Zoey’s sure that her Father will start trying to push them together again, which she doesn’t think that’s such a bad idea at all.

Charlie’s POV:

Charlie surveys the couple across from him. He’s very happy for both of them and feels that no two people deserve their newfound happiness, more than they do. They have both served their country for the majority of their lives. The President wouldn’t be nearly as effective a leader without Leo by his side and Leo wouldn’t be as successful a politician without his legendry assistant by his side. Leo and Margaret have been a team that has been envied by the political community for years.

Charlie doesn’t know how Leo was with his ex-wife, because she was already scarce by the time he joined the administration. But Zoey was telling him, on the way to the dinning room, that she has never seen Leo so much in love and that she’d never seen Leo kiss Jenny with the fervor that they had witnessed earlier.

Charlie’s been worried about Leo for some time now. He and Margaret have become really close since Mrs. Landingham’s death. Margaret had come to him several times about Leo’s apparent decline in heath and his all too noticeable decline in demeanor. Margaret sought him out one night after Leo had chewed out CJ and told him that she thought that Leo might be drinking again. Charlie offered to help her look for signs, but he told her that he thought Leo’s change behavior was because he was doing the President’s job and running the staff all by himself. Margaret is the only person Charlie confided this alarming fact to.

When the President yelled for him last night, he ran as fast as he could to Leo’s office and when he entered the office and saw the President kneeling down beside Leo’s motionless body, he panicked. His first thought was that Leo had a heart attack and was dead. But then, he heard Leo moan and knew that at least he was still alive. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing another person in his life.

Charlie used to tease Margaret about her having feelings for Leo. But then Jordon came back into Leo’s life and Charlie promptly stopped the teasing, because he could see how Leo’s relationship with Jordon was hurting Margaret. He’d noticed that Margaret hadn’t been herself since the night of the reelection and her mood had deteriorated even more in the past few weeks. He’d caught her crying, only last week, after Leo had been called to the Situation Room. She brushed him off, by telling him that it was just her emotional time of the month, so he didn’t press the issue. But now, things seem to have worked out for her, and Charlie’s extremely happy for her, now if he could just get Zoey to notice him. Charlie inadvertently glances at Zoey again and this time she catches him.

Margaret’s POV:

Margaret’s hand is still resting on Leo’s leg. He seems to be fine for the moment, but, then again, it appears that he has gotten really good at concealing things from her. She makes a mental note to discuss this matter with Leo later tonight. There are a lot of things that she plans on taking up with him later tonight.

Margaret glances around the table. Not much has been said since they sat down. Leo and she had spent the first minute or so whispering to one another. She knows that this is not very polite thing to do, but she’s more worried about Leo than proper etiquette. She notices the President and First Lady exchanging smiles an then the First Lady gives the President some sort of pointed look, but Margaret doesn’t know Mrs. Bartlet well enough to figure out what her look means.

Margaret’s been worried about Leo since the kidnapping occurred. Things seemed to get worse after Zoey’s rescue. Margaret knows that Leo is smoking again; he’s not eating right and not getting enough of sleep. She’s going to give him hell about all of these things, the first chance she gets. Margaret witnessed Leo chewing out CJ for misspeaking to the press, and she was really starting to wonder what was going on with him. Then, later that day when CJ bought her release to the press to him, there was even more fireworks between them. This time it ended with CJ leaving Leo’s office in tears. Leo had been irritable and explosive for a while now, but this blow up with CJ sent Margaret’s early warning signal, into overdrive. After that altercation, Margaret went to Charlie and told him that she was afraid that Leo was drinking again. Charlie tried to convince her that it was because Leo was the one running the country, and that the President was mostly in a daze for months now and that Leo was protecting the President and trying to run the White House staff at the same time. Charlie told her that he would help keep an eye out for Leo for her. From that day on, Margaret searched his office on a daily basis and was always coming up with all kinds of lame excuses to run by his hotel, so that she could either check up on him or search his room when he wasn’t there.

Charlie and she have gotten really close since Mrs. Landingham’s death. She’s so glad to have Charlie to confide in, because Leo has been very unpopular with the Senior Staff lately, and even their assistants have even taken to shying away from her. Margaret gives Charlie a quick look. He and Zoey appear to be swapping shy glances with one another too. They made such a nice couple, she hopes that they might find their way back into each other’s arms. After this thought, she now thinks she knows what the look the Mrs. Bartlet was giving her husband earlier was. She was telling him by facial expression, to ‘Butt out’ of Zoey and Charlie affairs. Margaret has to suppress a giggle at this realization.

Margaret returns her attention to Leo and he gives her a small nervous smile. She can tell that he feels like he’s being watched and with good reason since everyone keeps glancing at him. Everyone at the table has been alternating gazes at Leo and the others at the table. Margaret knows that they are all worried about Leo, but she’s hoping that the staring stops soon, and that normal dinner conversation will start.

Leo’s POV:

Leo notices that everyone, at the table, has been watching him since he sat down at the table. He knows that he’s in for constant surveillance now that his secret has been exposed. Margaret will be at ‘Defcon Five’ all the time, Jed will be hovering and if Abbey has her way, he will be under a doctor’s close scrutiny at his earliest inconvenience. He knows Margaret and his friends far too well, to expect any less than this. The only two who seem to be at least slightly less noticeable in their assessment of him, are Zoey and Charlie. They seem to be more involved in stealing glances at each other and trying not to get caught by the other.

Abbey’s giving him those looks that only she can, concern and ‘I know what’s best for you’ all wrapped up in one. Leo’s glad that they have smoothed over their differences, because he has really missed their friendship these past few months. Her words had cut him deep, this past July Fourth, but he still believes that he deserved her outburst. The thing that really hurt him was when she told him that she didn’t want him in the Residence, because she didn’t want him near her or her family. That part has been his undoing. He will never stop blaming himself for Zoey’s kidnapping, no matter what she says. It is something that is going to be with him, for the rest of his life and he was going to have to find a way, to live with it.

Leo’s aware of Jed’s constant fleeting looks. Leo’s been running himself into the ground protecting this man and he’d do it all over again. Leo’s sure that there are going to be some new rules laid upon him by the President, and he’s sure that Jed’s going to go overboard with nurse maiding him, so he’s going to have to come up with a good diversion for the President. He hates to do this to the kids, but he’s going to mention to Jed that he thinks that Zoey and Charlie might just need a little push towards one another.

Leo’s positive that he’s in for it later tonight from his best friend, and he wonders how many little excuses the President has come up with already, to get him off by himself tonight and torment him. Jed’s definitely is going to pick on him about Margaret. He can just hear him now; ‘She’s pretty young for you.’, ‘She’ll help keep your files organized at home.’, ‘You’ll have to start taking vitamins to be able to keep up with her.’, ‘Isn’t she a lot taller than you?’ and ‘Do you still even remember how?’ Oh yeah, the after dinner banter is going to be so much fun Leo, thinks to himself.

Leo’s happy that Abbey and Jed seem to be have made up with each other. Neither one of them could survive without the other and he’s so glad to see that they seem to be almost back to where they were, as a couple, before the kidnapping. Leo’s always been a little envious of their relationship and he’s wanted to have the same thing for himself, but Jenny and he never clicked the way that Jed and Abbey did and in fact, still do. But, now with Margaret, in just this short time they have been together, he feels that they have such a strong bond, and thinks that they have a chance at the same type of relationship. This last thought brings a smile to his face.

Leo can’t help but stare at Zoey. He’s still having a hard time being near her and still feels incredibility guilty about what happened to her. She can tell him to stop blaming himself all she wants, but it won’t change his mind. But, he does feel a little relief that she still wants to be around him, because he was unsure of how she would feel about him after she got back from the farm. He’d done a good job of avoiding her after her rescue and before she went to the farm. He never even got a chance to find out if she liked her graduation present he got her. He knows that she never found her real present. He needs to mention that to her, tonight. Maybe that would give Charlie and her an excuse to leave before the fun after dinner activities begin.

Leo turns his attention towards Charlie. He remembers the first time he saw him. He was this young scared kid trying to tell the President were he might find his glasses. Leo smiles at this memory. Leo’s sure that Jed will enlist Charlie in his evil plot, to watch over him. Leo’s aware that Charlie and Margaret have been looking for signs of him drinking again. He really can’t blame them, he’s thought about it a few times these past few months, and so it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.

Leo watches Zoey and Charlie. He thinks that Zoey needs to follow her own advice and tell Charlie that she still loves him. He knows that Charlie stills loves her. Leo hopes that somehow they can put their past behind them and find a future together. Leo wonders when he got so ‘touchy feely’ lately, it must be the effect that Margaret has on him. But, he’s willing to suffer these new feelings, if it meant he gets to spend the rest of his life with Margaret.

Leo reaches down and pats Margaret’s hand that has been resting on his leg since he sat down. She’s already asked him twice, if he’s ok.  He knows that she’s worried about him. She’s always worried about him, but now on a new heightened level.   
She turns towards him and smiles when he pats her hand. He can’t help but notice that she’s nervous. She’s never been in the Residence before, and what an initiation she’s had.

Margaret gives Leo a look, which he recognizes it right away. He knows she’s thinking of various ways she’s going to make Leo suffer for hiding something from her for months, because he’s still paying for that small disruption he caused her precious filing system years ago. He also knows he’s in for a major lifestyle changes and Margaret will probably come up with numerous memos and rules on that subject. One change he’s definitely looking forward to is, waking up with her in his arms every morning. ‘Damnit’. He needs to stop thinking about this and ‘Margaret needs to stop rubbing her hand on my leg like that’. Leo grabs Margaret’s hand and gives her a look. At first she’s confused, then see follows his eyes down to the front of his pants. She grins at the sight of Leo’s problem, which has arisen again. Leo just shakes his head at her and scoots his chair further under the table. He notices that Abbey is smirking at him. ‘Great, busted’, he thinks.

Leo can’t wait for them to get back to Margaret’s apartment tonight, because they have so much to discuss and he’d like to practice his newly found favorite stress reliever. He’s really going to need it after tonight, since she’s driving him crazy with her hand rubbing his leg. She’s probably just trying to cause a diversion for him, so he won’t worry about having a panic attack.

Leo tries to concentrate on the people around the table and it doesn’t take long for them to squash his problem. He’s sure that everyone is mulling over all the details that have come to light about him, these past few hours. There’s no reason for him to do that, he lived them. He knows that the people around the table have his best interest in mind, but if they don’t stop staring at him soon, he’s going to explode. They don’t deserve his temper, but he wants them to stop it, he needs them to stop. Hopefully, once the food is served they can begin to have a normal dinner. ‘God, I hope Jed starts talking about same inane Christmas fact soon’, Leo says to himself.

Dinner Conversations:

"Mr. President are you ready for us to start serving?" The head steward says, as he enters the room.

Leo breathes a silent ‘Thank God’ under his breath.

"Yes, John, we’re ready." Jed answers. Once the silence is broken, Jed feels it’s time for some Christmas Knowledge to be spread. "Did you know that the first Christmas Dinner that was served in the White House was..."

"Oh, Dad, Please!" Zoey interrupts. "Can’t we get through this meal without Mr. Christmas Trivia rearing his head?" She smirks.

Jed feigns a hurt look. "But, Zoey, I thought you loved to hear about the first dinner that was served here?"

"No Dad, you must be thinking about yourself." Zoey smirks. This last statement of Zoey’s makes Charlie giggle.

"Well, then what can we discuss?" Jed turns his eyes towards Leo. "Leo, where are you and Margaret going to live after you get married, surely not at your hotel?" Jed asks his best friend.

Margaret snorts, "In his dreams", at the hotel comment.

Margaret’s comment brings back some pretty powerful images from his dream about them that he had two nights ago in his hotel, and images from their earlier encounter there this afternoon. It takes him a few seconds to regain his composure. "No Sir, we are not going to live in my hotel. Actually, I’m moving in with Margaret until we can find a place to live."

"Really?" The President squeaks.

"Yes Sir, as of tonight, I will be living at Margaret’s." Leo reaches for Margaret’s hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. He turns towards Margaret whose face appears to have all the color drain from it and then just as quickly, it turns red.

"Leo." She barely gets out. She can’t believe he just told them that. She’s going to die of embarrassment.

"Yeah." He answers her with a huge smile on his face. He loves seeing her blush.

"Well, I think that’s great!" The President tries to come to Margaret’s rescue and let her know that he has no problem with it.

"Thank you, Sir." Leo responds while still holding Margaret’s hand and rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.

"Have you guys thought about where you might look for a place?" Abbey enters the conversation.

"No, I only just asked her to marry me this morning." Leo announces.

When the words marry me come out of Leo’s mouth, Margaret instantly relaxes. ‘I’m getting married to Leo’ she thinks to herself. A confident smile graces her lips. "Yes, you did." It flows from her mouth before she can stop it. She blushes at her comment.

"I hope you don’t think I’m trying to interfere..." Abbey starts to say.

"Abigail, why would they ever think that?" Jed interrupts his wife, with his smirk.

"Jethro, present later, remember!" She smirks back.

"Oh yeah, right, um... Abbey, why don’t you inform us of your wonderful idea, Sweetie?" Jed says, as he tries to win back points and salvage his late night Christmas present.

"Well, a friend of mine, Dr. Joan Morgan, and her husband Bill, who just sold his company, are moving back to New England. They have a condo in Kalorama that they just moved out of. I don’t think they have even put it on the market yet. I was there a couple of times, six years ago, before this circus started. It’s very nice and it’s huge. I think it has three bedrooms."

"Oh, Mrs. Bartlet that does sound wonderful, but it’s probably way too expense to afford," answers a thrifty Margaret.

The looks and sounds that are exchanged around the table, after Margaret’s statement, are priceless. But their meanings are totally lost on Margaret and Charlie.

"Leo, she really has no idea does she," the President asks his best friend.

"No Sir, she doesn’t." Leo turns and faces his fiancée. "Margaret I don’t think it will be a problem. Why don’t we let Abbey arrange a time for us to go look at it?"

"Leo. A condo in Kalorama, let alone a three bedroom one, must run... um.. several thousands of dollars. It was just in the paper that Kalorama hosts some of the most desirable address in DC," she squeals.

"Closer to 1.5 Million." Abbey answers. "I think that’s what they’re asking for it. But, that’s really very reasonable for that area."

Margaret goes pale again. "A million and a half!" She shrieks. "Well then, lets buy two of them."

"That’s just a small drop in the bucket for Leo," the President informs her.

"What?" Margaret contemplates, as she turns towards the President and then to Leo.

"Margaret if you like it, we’ll buy it. It won’t be any problem. I have more than enough money for it." Leo tells her.

"Yeah, but will there be anything left to eat on." She smirks.

"Margaret, we can talk about this later." Leo whispers.

Jed's not going to let his friend off that easily. "Margaret, you’ve worked for Leo all these years and you never knew that you were working for a multi-millionaire?"

"What?" Margaret grasps. "Leo, is this true?"

"Yeah." Leo shyly answers.

"Yeah?" She asks again.

"Yeah." He answers again.

"Ok." She responds.

"Ok." He says. Hoping this will be the last he hears about it.

"Ok, you do realize that we’ll be taking about this later tonight. Don’t you?" Margaret asks.

"Yes, Baby. I assumed it would be one of the main topics of conversation tonight," he replies.

"Good then. But, I still say you spend way too much money!" She smirks.

"And I’ll repeat, you can squeeze a nickel better than any ten people I know." Leo smirks.

"Leo!"

"Yes, Baby. I know... that women are always right." Leo can’t help but put in his own jab.

His last comment earns him a not so gentle swat on the arm.

"Ouch, that hurt." Leo whines.

"Serves you right," Margaret replies as everyone around the table bursts out with laughter.

Jed loves seeing his best friend get the same type of treatment he has been, on the receiving end of, for years. He’s so happy for his old friend. Leo deserves this chance to be happy. He has given up so much for this administration. Margaret loves him and has always put Leo’s best interest first. Jed knows that Leo’s going to have to work on her about the fact that she’s just as important in this relationship, as he is. Leo will have his work cut out for him, but Jed thinks he’ll love every minute of it. Just like Leo loves all her quirky notes. He noticed Leo looking at the file earlier this week, Jed couldn’t believe how larger it was now. Yeah, he should have known years ago that Leo loved her.

Abbey is happy to see Margaret willing to act this way in front to her and her husband. She thinks that Margaret’s the perfect match for Leo. She’s so happy for them. She’ll call her friend tomorrow and get them set up to go look at the condo, soon. Abbey’s going to insist to Jed, that he make Leo take some time off work and now Jed can make him even take longer off, since they need to move. There will be plenty to do with the move; of course she knows that Leo will hire a moving service to have everything done. She wonders how Margaret will react to that. She’ll probably say that it’s a waste of money. Abbey truly likes Margaret. She’s one of a kind, with a heart of gold and she knows that she is not after him, for his money.  Not that she would think that anyway but it is nice to know.

Zoey’s so happy for her honorary uncle. She has always known that he has a lot of money. Leo has owned at least a couple of mansions, so she couldn’t believe it when he decided to move into a hotel, instead of buying an expensive condo somewhere. She's sure that he was waiting for Jenny to change her mind, at first. Then, it probably just became to easier for him to live in the hotel. He never was one to think about his own needs. He’s so lucky to find someone as sweet as Margaret and who doesn’t care about his money. They’re going to be a lot of fun to watch from now on. Then a thought hits her, ‘wait a minute, he has all that money and he only got me a pen for graduation’. She’ll have to tease him about that later.

Charlie doesn’t know what to think about all the looks and laughter that’s being exchanged around the table. He’s heard the President on several occasions alluded to Leo’s worth, but he had no idea that it was true or to what degree. Charlie gets a grin on his face when it hits him that a very frugal Margaret, will soon be married to a multi-millionaire. He can’t wait to start teasing her about that.

"Ok, you two, settle down." Jed smirks.

"Yes Sir,’ they answer in unison.

The rest of the meal passes rather quickly. The courses are served and everyone enjoys the food. The President has kept the trivia down to a minimum, which everyone has appreciated. Everyone is just finishing up with dinner when Jed sets his plan into motion.

"Charlie, didn’t you say earlier this afternoon, that you have something that needs my attention before the end of the day?" Jed asks, as he gives Charlie his ‘don’t fail me now look’.

Charlie recognizes the President’s look. "Yes, Sir. I um... need you to sign something that got misplaced and it needs to be signed today, Sir." Charlie turns to Mrs. Bartlet. "I’m sorry Ma’am, this is all my fault."

"Oh, don’t worry about it Charlie, I’m sure Margaret and I can find something to talk about." Abbeys tries to put on a good act, but there is a tell tale sign of a smile growing on her lips.

Leo and Margaret exchange knowing looks. They both knew this was coming. Divide and conquer. But that’s ok. They will play along with them and get it all over with. The sooner they do, the sooner they can get back to her Margaret’s apartment.

"Sir, did you want me to come along with you? I really don’t think that woman talk is exactly, my forte." Leo sarcastically states.

"Leo, that’s a great idea." Jed turns to Charlie. "Charlie, you said you left it on the center of my desk in my private study, right?"

"Yes, Sir." Charlie has a grin, of his own, growing on his lips. "Sir, if you don’t need me, I thought I’ll watch some TV with Zoey, that is, if she wants to."

"Sounds like a good idea, I bet there’s an old Christmas movie on that we could watch," Zoey says.

Zoey and Charlie get up and start to leave the room. Leo stands and follows. "Zoey, may I have a moment please?" Her honorary uncle asks.

"Sure." Zoey replies.

They’re now standing out in the hallway. "Charlie, would you mind waiting for Zoey in the living room? I need to talk to Zoey for a minute. I promise I won’t keep her long." Leo requests.

"No problem, Leo." Charlie turns and heads down the hallway.

"Zoey, I umm... just wanted to thank you for yesterday. You made me realize what I needed to do. You gave me the courage to take a chance," Leo softy says.

"Oh Leo, I’m so happy for you. I’m really glad you found each other. You two are made for each other, I hope that someday, I can find such happiness."

"Zoey, I think if you looked really hard, you might find that it’s not too far away." Leo says, as he glances down the hall towards the living room.

They share a hug. Leo pulls from her arms. "Hey, you never did tell me if you liked your graduation present."

"You mean, ‘the pen’?" Zoey states.

"Yeah, it’s a really good pen." He replies.

"Yes, I’m sure it will come in handy with all the letters that I will write since I’ve decided not to join the twenty first century and boycott email." She smirks.

Leo lets out a small chuckle. He loves his honorary niece so much and is so proud of the woman that she has become. "Yeah, I guess you could use it for that. But, if you looked under the flap of the box, you might find another use for that pen."

Zoey is confused by what Leo’s saying. "Um... ok."

"Zoey, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Uncle Leo." She kisses his cheek and disappears down the hall in search of Charlie.

Leo walks back into the dinning room. Everyone is standing now. "Well, Sir, shall we go to your study so you can sign that very important paper that has to be signed today?" Leo scoffs.

"Yes, lets do that." Jed turns and heads for his study with Leo following closely behind.

"Margaret why don’t we go to the sitting room, since the kids have gone to the living room."  Abbeys suggests.

"Ok, Ma’ am." Margaret nervously replies.

"And Margaret, would you please call me Abbey?"

"I’m not sure I can, Ma’am."

"Well let’s give it a try, ok?"

"Yes Ma’am."

"Margaret!"

"Yes, Ma’am."

"Lets try again."

Margaret nervously bites her bottom lip as she answers, "Yes, um... Abbey."

"See, that’s not so hard. Let’s go get some coffee."

Margaret follows the First Lady out of the room and down the hall to the sitting room.


	10. Christmas Without You 10

**Christmas Without You**

**by:[ AdoreLeo](mailto:rockfordfilesfan@aol.com)**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

Dec 25, 2003

The President’s Private Study:

7:30 pm

Leo follows the President into his private study. Jed motions for Leo to sit down, in one of the wing back chairs, while he sits down in the other. "So, you’re getting married."

"Yes Sir."

"So when did you arrive at this decision?"

"Today Sir," Leo says, as he waits for the next question.

"When today?" Jed’s not going to give up.

"This morning, Sir," Leo decides that short answers are the best way to go when dealing with Jed on this subject, for that matter, on most subjects.

"When this morning?"

"After we woke up, Sir."

"Ok, let me get this straight. You went to Margaret’s last night, slept there, woke up there and then just out of the blue decided to ask her to marry you?" Jed asks.

"Yeah," Leo answers.

"And when was this again?"

"Um... I don’t know exactly when, but we had just...." Leo stops. He’s starting to get a little flustered and he almost let their activities from the past night and day slip out.

"Just had what, Leo?" Jed wants all the details he can get, plus it’s fun to watching Leo squirm.

"Um... Sir I don’t think I’ll say." Leo’s grin grows uncontrollably, just like his urges for Margaret.

"Ok, so you just decided to ask her?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. We had just spent a beautiful night and morning together and I realized I never wanted to be out of her arms again," Leo sheepishly admits.

"Really!" The President of the free world whines.

"Yeah, really, Sir." Leo mood turns serious. "Jed, no one has ever made me feel the way she does. All she has to do is touch me, look at me or whisper to me and I’m long gone! I love her so much. My heart starts beating fast and all I can think about is her. Nothing else matters, not even work. That’s when I knew, I had to ask her."

Jed’s surprised that Leo called him by name, not that he minds. As a matter of fact, Jed would like it if Leo called him by his name more often. "Not even work!" His best friend raises an eyebrow at that statement. ‘Boy, his friend has it bad’. "Leo you’re putty in her hands."

"Yeah. But what a way to go, Sir," Leo smirks.

"Yeah," Jed agrees.

"Sir, I was wondering... if you would like to be my best man?" Leo asks.

"Leo, I would love to," Jed replies. Then he decides to get back to prying details from his friend. "You plan on moving in with her, before you get married?"

"Yes, Sir, I do." Leo debates whether to tell the President about what had happened to Margaret. He’s not sure if she wants anyone to know what happened. "I don’t want to waste anymore time. Plus, Margaret doesn’t um... live in the best of neighborhoods, Sir, and I want her safe."

"Leo, what are you trying so hard not to tell me?" The President demands.

Leo decides he should tell Jed what happened. "Sir, Margaret was mugged a couple of years ago." Leo lowers his head as he continues. "It was all my fault, I kept her late at work and when she went home late that night. She was... attacked."

"Leo, what do you mean attacked?"

"She was knocked out. Sir, if it wasn’t for someone happening by, who knows what that bastard would have done to her!" Leo’s outrage comes quickly to the surface at the thought of some animal touching his Margaret.

"Leo, calm down. Was she hurt?" Jed asks in a concerned voice.

"Yes." Leo whispers.

"Leo, How bad? I don’t remember her being injured. Was I out of the country? Why didn’t you tell me?" Jed fires off the questions. He’s prided himself on caring about his staff and if he had overlooked Margaret’s injury, he isn’t going to be very happy.

"She was hit on the head. She received fifteen stitches, Sir. You didn’t notice because of the same reason I didn’t either." Leo offers.

"And why was that?"

"She hid it from me. She called in the morning after the attack and said she had a family emergency and needed the rest of the week off."

"I vaguely remember Margaret being gone." Jed pauses trying to remember. "You weren’t in the best of moods."

"No, Sir, I wasn’t," Leo replies. "I don’t seem to function well without her." Leo barely smiles.

"Yes, that’s true, but there was something else was going on, wasn’t there?" Jed is searching his mind for the reason behind Leo’s dark mood during that time.

"Yes, Sir," Leo answers. "But..."

"Leo, why did she hide this from you?" The President asked, but he already suspects that he knows the answer.

"She was... protecting me, Sir," Leo softly admits.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because she didn’t want me to feel guilty. She knew that I would blame myself and she said that I was in no condition to take on any more guilt," Leo admits.

"What was going on then?" There had been several things go wrong for Leo, since they had taken office that Jed wasn’t sure which event Leo was talking about.

"The day before her mugging, I had that meeting with General Adamley." Just even saying his name is hard for Leo to do, the mention of it brings back something that he wished he never found out.

"Oh." Was all that Jed could manage to say. What else could he say? It had been a bad time for Leo. Jed thinks back to that tragic Sunday.

Jed had just finished a marathon meeting with the Vice-President, when he thought he heard a faint knock on the Oval Office door. He called for the person to enter as he got up and went to behind his desk to pack up for the evening. When he looked up from his briefcase, he was surprised to see Margaret standing there. She was only just inside the door and hesitated before entering any further. She never comes into the Oval, unless she knew Leo’s here and she needs him for something.

"Margaret, come in. If you’re looking for Leo, he left hours ago, after an early meeting this afternoon." Jed is very surprised that she doesn’t know this. Margaret knows where Leo is every second of the day and Jed wouldn’t put it past her to have spies at Leo’s hotel to keep track of him there, too.

"No, Sir, he didn’t leave," Margaret says, very quietly. She’s obviously, very nervous. She’s wringing her hands the whole time that she walks towards the President’s desk.

"He told me he was leaving after his meeting with Adamley." Jed explains. "Do you need me to go shoo him out the door, Margaret?" Jed asks with an uneven smile. He’s starting to think that something’s wrong with Leo, because Margaret’s face is drawl pretty tight.

"Sir, he’d kill me if he knew I was doing this," Margaret tries to regain some composer. "He never left... after his meeting with the General."

"Margaret, is Leo ok?" Jed voice full of concern.

"I... don’t think so, Sir," She gasps though tight lips. She feels like she’s betraying Leo, but she has to do something, especially when she knows that Leo’s in trouble. "When the General left, Leo never came out. I waited for a while expecting him to come out and tell me to go home, but he didn’t. So after a while, Sir, I went to his door and knocked. He didn’t answer at first and then I heard him through the door, telling me, to go home. Sir, I could tell by the sound of his voice that something wasn’t right, so I decided to go in anyway. I found him, sitting in his chair, in front of the window. I really couldn’t make out his face because the room was so dark. I started for the light and he stopped me from turning it on. He told me that he was done and that I was to go home. Sir, when he said he was done, he made it seem so final and his voice sounded..." Margaret pauses, as she tries to hold back her own tears of worry.

"Margaret, what’s going on? What are you trying so hard not to tell me?" Jed wants to know what’s going on that has Margaret so rattled.

"Sir, when he told me to go home, his voice was... Sir, it was... husky with tears." Margaret lowers her head at this statement

"Are you sure, Margaret?"

Margaret bobs her head up and down. "Sir, he was... I know he was crying and he seems very despondent. I know Leo, I may not have been able to see his face clearly, but I know he’s upset. I didn’t know what to do, I... I’m afraid to leave him like this, Sir. I’m afraid he might um... you know..." Her hands are very fidgety now.

"Drink?" Jed asked.

Margaret bobbed her head while biting her bottom lip.

"Don’t worry, Margaret, I’ll go see him." Jed walks over to her and puts a comforting hand on her arm. "Margaret, you did the right thing by telling me. Why don’t you go on home now? Ok?"

"Ok, Sir," She barely whispers.

"Don’t worry, Margaret. I won’t tell him we talked. Ok?"

"Ok, Sir." She now has tears running down her face as she turns to leave.

"Oh, Margaret, you’re a good friend to him. Thanks for looking out for him," Jed smiles as he says this. He thinks that Margaret’s one of a kind and that Leo’s so fortunate to have her, as his assistant and his friend.

"You’re welcome, Sir. Taking care of Leo is second nature to me now, Sir." She gives him a small smile and heads out the door.

Jed enters Leo’s office, the lights are lower than normal and Leo doesn’t even notice that the President is there. Leo’s sitting in his wing back chair in front of the window and he isn’t moving.  At first, Jed thinks he’s asleep, and then he hears the soft sounds of Leo crying. The last time this happened, Jed let his best friend have some privacy, but this time Jed knows that there is something really wrong.

"Leo, what’s wrong?"

Leo didn’t realize that the President is in his office and he jumps up out of his chair and tries to wipe the tears, from his eyes. "Sir?"

"Leo, sit down." Even though Jed knows that Leo has just talked to Adamley and that Leo’s problem probably has something to do with that meeting. Jed still couldn’t help but think that there is only one thing that could make Leo this upset. "Leo, has something happened to Mallory?"

Leo sits back down in his chair, across from his friend. Of course Jed would assume that something’s happened to Mallory to have him this upset. How does he tell his friend that it’s because he could’ve have killed someone else’s child in that ill-fated mission. That supposed military target. The bombing mission where he killed eleven innocent civilians. "No, Mallory’s fine," he answered in a dead voice, refusing to look his friend in the eye. At least, he thought Mal was ok. He hadn’t seen or talked to her in a while.

Jed’s really is starting to get concerned about his friend. He’s afraid that he’s on the edge and it wouldn’t take much more than a spoken word to send him over it. "Leo, talk to me, you’re scaring me."

At that phrase, Leo looks at his friend and sees the look of fear on his face. "Mr. President... I’m fine."

"Leo, cut the shit, you’re not fine! Tell me what the hell happened!"

Leo’s so tired and emotionally drained from his ordeal that he starts telling Jed without even fully realizing it. Leo tells him the whole story about Adamley’ s visit and what the General had to tell him. He ends the recounting, by telling Jed about the mission.

"Oh Leo, I’m so sorry... but this is not your fault!"

"Tell that to the families of the people I murdered."

"Leo, you didn’t murder everyone. It was War! You were deceived!"

"Yeah, all wars are crimes, that’s what Adamley said."

God, Jed wishes Adamley were here right now. He’d love to kick the General’s ass for doing this to his friend. "Leo, why did he tell you this?"

"Funny, I asked him the same thing," Leo sneers. "He wanted to make sure he got in to speak with you about the War Crimes Tribunal."

"Well, he can forget about that now. I never want to see that son of a bitch again. He’s not to step foot in this White House again!" Jed roars.

"Yeah, because we can’t have people being mean to his Chief of Staff," Leo smirks. He remembers when Toby wanted someone arrested for saying something bad about the President. "I told him I’d set something up with you, later this week."

"Well you can forget it, I won’t see him."

"Sir."

"Don’t Sir me, Leo. Nobody does this to you and then gets a free pass."

For the first time since this afternoon, Leo almost smiles at his friend’s protectiveness. "Sir, he’s one of your Generals, you have to meet with him."

"We’ll see, besides I don’t care about that, right now. All I’m concerned about is you."

"That’s very kind of you Sir, but I’m only one person, and this issue could adversely affect several thousands of people, Sir."

"Yes, I know, Leo. But right now, I’m concerned about my best friend."

Leo looks at Jed, the man who has stood beside him and been his friend for years. The man that, Leo had called from that motel parking lot. No one could ask for a better friend than Jed. How many more times can Jed’s Presidency withstand a blow that is ‘his’ fault? "Sir, I don’t deserve your concern."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jed questions.

"You should have let me resign after my addictions came to surface. Now, this. It’s sure to come out, right before the hearings. You need to cut your losses now, Sir."

"Leo, I don’t want to hear anymore about cutting my losses. You are here for the duration. You got me into this mess and you’re going to be here until the end. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir."

"Don’t Sir me. You’re not going to leave me here alone with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb, Mr. ‘The glass is half empty’ and Miss ‘I’m good in bed’. But, more importantly, if you leave, I’m sure that your wonderful assistant will follow you and the White House can’t afford to lose it’s best assistant!"

An actual smile comes to Leo’s face at the mention of his assistant. She’s followed from the Labor Department, to the Lecture Circuit, to the campaign and finally to the White House. He couldn’t ask for anyone more skilled, loyal and dedicated than Margaret. Leo looks at his friend. "Yeah, Margaret is the best. She’s always seems to be a step ahead of me. I know if I were to leave, that she’d follow. She wouldn’t like leaving, but I know she’d follow me just the same and I wouldn’t be able to stop her." In his mind he finishes with ‘and I wouldn’t want to stop her either.’

"Sounds like to me, then, you have to stay. You wouldn’t want to get Margaret on your bad side."

"No, Sir. I wouldn’t." Leo can’t deny that Margaret is a force to be reckoned with.

"Leo, that’s enough shop talk, let’s head to the Residence and catch the last half of the football game."

"Sir, I’m tired, I think I’d really rather just go home."

"Leo, do I need to order you to come watch TV with your Commander and Chief?"

"Sir."

"Leo."

"Ok, just for awhile." Leo gets up and wearily makes his way to the door and opens it for his President.

"Ok. Leo, you’ll see, we’ll have fun."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

They head off to the Residence moving very slowly, since Leo’s favoring his bad leg more than usual. Jed hasn’t noticed Leo’s limp being this pronounced in a long time. ‘How much more does this man have to go through’ Jed can’t help but wonder, as they make their way down the portico and off to the Residence to watch some football.

"Sir." Leo waits a couple of seconds. "Mr. President!"

"Umm... yeah." Jed’s mind slowly returns to the present.

"You seemed to have drifted, Sir."

"Yeah, I was just remembering..." Admits to his best friend.

"Yeah, me too, Sir." Leo acknowledges.

"So, the only reason you’re moving in with Margaret is because you’re only thinking about her safety." Jed’s ready to start the teasing again.

"Yes, Sir," Leo answers through his widespread grin.

"Very commendable of you, and not in the least bit, selfish on your part, either," Jed smirks.

"That’s what I think too, Sir."

"You know, I couldn’t help noticing, when you arrived today, that you seemed pretty... tired and worn out."

"Yeah?" Leo’s not sure where his friend’s going with this new line of questioning.

"I’m not sure that I can afford to have my Chief of Staff in such a condition all the time."

"What do you mean, Sir?"

"I mean. You’ve haven’t even been with Margaret for a whole day yet and you are already worn out." Jed smiles.

"I’m not worn out." Leo bemuses. Well, at least not in a way Jed could notice.

"You sure do appear that way. Remember, you’re an old man Leo. You don’t want to over do yourself."

"Old man, I like to see you try and keep..." Leo stops, he gives Jed a smirk. Leo almost fell into that one. He’s not about to tell his friend that Margaret has turned him into a walking erection.

"Keep what, Leo?" Jed’s eyes are dancing.

"Nothing, Sir. Maybe we should go back and check up on Abbey and Margaret." Leo heads for the door. Then turns back to his friend. "Oh, I sure hope that Coop knows how to keep his mouth shut, I wouldn’t want it to get around that I like bay window seats." Leo grins as he turns and heads out the door.

"Leo." Jed whines as he tries to catch up with his friend.

"What, can’t you keep up old man?" Leo asks back over his shoulder, as he continues down the hall. Maybe he should tell Jed that tonight, if his luck held out, would be the sixth time in a little over twenty-four hours that he made love to Margaret. Leo shakes his head at that thought and says to himself, ‘Nah, Jed probably wouldn’t even believe it, I’m not so sure that I believe it myself’.

"Who you calling old? I can still put you in your place." Jed catches up to his friend’s side.

"Ok, whatever you say, Mr. President." Leo slows down his rolling gait.

"Don’t you Mr. President me, I’ll have you know that I have plans for rendezvous number two with Abbey later tonight," He proudly boasts.

"That’s very admirable of you, Sir," Leo informs his best friend.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Leo agrees.

"Ok."

"Now, if you would just multiply ‘that’ by three, you would be where Margaret and I will be up to at the end of the evening." Man, Leo really loves messing with Jed. The look on Jed’s face is priceless. Leo hopes that this never gets back to Margaret. She’d die from the embarrassment and then kick his ass!

Jed does the math in his head, two time three is six and take away tonight’s time. "Five times, you want me to believe that you’ve... five times!" Jed shrieks. "You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to believe that whopper. You’re just teasing me, aren’t you?"

Leo stops and turns to his friend, Leo has a panicked look on his face. "God Jed, will you stop yelling it down the hall. If Margaret finds out I told you, she’d kick my ass!"

Judging by the look on Leo’s face, Jed can tell that his friend is, in fact, telling the truth. Jed is speechless. He just nods his head and finally manages to say, "Sorry."

"Come on, let’s go join the women and you’d better wipe that look off your face," Leo tells, his best friend.

"Yeah, and I think you need to rest up for..." Abbey and Margaret’s abrupt appearance in the hallway interrupt Jed.

Sitting Room:

7:30pm

 Abbey and Margaret are sitting at opposite ends of the same couch in the sitting room. Margaret’s hands are folded in her lap, she’s trying her hardest not to let them fidget. "Mrs. Bartlet, I just want to say, again, that I’m so sorry for yelling at you tonight. It’s just that I was ..."

Abbey raises a hand to stop her. "First of all, I thought we decided that it was Abbey, and secondly, Margaret, you don’t owe me an apology, I own you one, for my behavior towards Leo. I know it hurt you too, and for that I am very sorry. So why don’t we just start over? OK?"

"Oh, I’d like that very much Ma’am um... I mean... Abbey." Margaret wonders if she’ll ever feel comfortable calling the First Lady by her first name.

"Great. Now lets get down to the real important matters at hand. I want to discuss Leo’s health with you."

"Ok."

"I’m worried about his general health and the panic attacks. The attacks could be the result of something more serious. When was the last time that Leo had a physical?"

"I don’t think he’s had one since... Jenny left him. They use to go and get theirs at the same time each year."

"Ok, well the first thing we need to do is get him in for one."

"Yeah right," Margaret snorts. "I’m sorry, it’s just not something that I think he’s going to be very receptive to.

"Yeah, I’m sure you’re right about that. I may have to get Jed to order Leo to get one for the good of his country," Abbey smirks.

"Abbey, I feel like... I’m ratting him out, but... he’s smoking again. It started up about the same time you left for the farm. I think he’s only smoking at work, because I haven’t..." Margaret suddenly stops and lowers her head in embarrassment.

"Haven’t what Margaret?" Abbey asks.

Without raising her head, Margaret confesses. "I haven’t smelled smoke inside his hotel room while ... I’ve been sneaking into his room and checking it for... signs that he has been... drinking." The last word, barely above a whisper, fell slowly from her mouth.

‘Margaret, it’s ok. Jed and I have been wondering, if he has been drinking too. Leo will never hear it from me that you were checking up on him." Abbey scoots down to Margaret’s end of the couch and places a concerned hand on Margaret’s hand. "It just shows that you love him."

"I don’t want him to think that I don’t trust him, but before yesterday, I really didn’t know what was going on in his life," Margaret divulges.

"Leo’s a lucky man to have you, Margaret. You’re the best thing that has happened to him in a long time, if not ever."

"Thank you, Mrs... I mean, Abbey."

"Now here’s the plan. First, we get Leo in for a physical. Second, I think I’m going to call Dr. Keyworth and confer with him about Leo’s panic attacks and see what he suggests. Thirdly, Leo needs to start working on reducing his stress level.

"I think he’s already found a new favorite way to reduce his stress level." Margaret blushes.

"Oh, do tell."

"I um... I," Margaret stutters.

"Would it have anything to do with your bay window in your apartment?"

"Oh my God, how did you know about that?" Margaret’s face is totally red now.

"Jed was so worried about what Leo might do last night, when you resigned that he had Leo followed to your apartment. Jed had the agent report in every hour with an update."

"No."

"Yes. Agents never usually divulge information of a personal nature, but I think that the agent was just trying stop Jed from worrying. All the agents are aware of Leo and Jed’s strong friendship."

"Do you think Leo knows?"

"Not much gets past Leo, but who knows, Leo really wasn’t himself last night."

"I’ll say!" Margaret announces.

"Ya know, I’ll always suspected that Leo was very... how can I phrase this?"

Before Abbey can finish her thought, Margaret finishes it for her. "Leo’s a very talented and enthusiastic lover!"

"For a man his age?" Abbey asks.

"For a man, any age!" Margaret declares proudly.

"Oh my!" Abbey affirms.

"Yeah. He can’t control himself." Margaret hadn't intended for that last part to slip out. But, she’s definitely not going to mention the fact that he’s quite well endowed, too.

"Margaret, you’re a very fortunate woman." Abbey isn’t really surprised to find this out about Leo. She has always suspected that he was full of passion and that the right person would be all he needed, to bring out.

"I know, I’ve never seen anyone with that large a ..." Margaret abruptly stops. She can’t believe what she almost just said.

"You’ve never seen that large a what?" Abbey asks, with a smile on her face.

"That large a... um... could we just forget I said that?" Margaret pleads.

"Ok, I won’t torment you any more about it, I’ll just say you’re very lucky and leave it at that." Abbey knew exactly what Margaret had been referring to. She’s noticed that her husband’s friend appeared to be well endowed. Not that she was looking, but she couldn’t help but notice. When she once had to examine his bad hip and he was in his boxers, she could see that he could probably please most women.

"Yes I am, five times lucky so..." Margaret’s hand flies to her mouth. She can’t believe she just said that. Why can’t she keep her big mouth shut? Her face has turned a very pretty color of crimson. She hadn’t planned on telling Abbey that Leo, these past few hours, has been a walking erection. Even as embarrassed as she is, Margaret still can’t help but smile at the recent and very enjoyable activities that Leo and her have shared.

Abbey notices the all too revealing smile on Margaret’s face, and is about to comment on it, when they both hear a ruckus in the hallway. Abbey leads the way to the doorway with Margaret close behind.

Living Room:

7:30 pm

Zoey and Charlie are sitting on opposite ends of the couch and have been watching TV for a while now. Zoey’s curiosity finally gets the best of her. "Charlie, I’m going to my bedroom and check on something."

"Ok," Charlie acknowledges.

"Ya want to come with me?" Zoey asks, as she gets up from the couch.

"Do you think that’s wise?"

"Charlie, grow up. Your virtue is safe tonight. I just want to go look for something that Leo told me about tonight." Zoey heads for the door.

"Ok, I’ll go with you." Charlie gets up from the couch and follows her out the door. "Speaking of Leo, how long has this thing been going between Margaret and him, been going on? I used to tease Margaret all the time about her being in love with him, but I stopped when Jordon appeared on the scene."

"It just started last night. You know he went over to her apartment last night."

"Yeah, I got Margaret’s address for his driver." Charlie replies.

"Well, that’s when it started. I don’t know what happened, but something must have happened, because they’re getting married now."

"Yeah, I can’t wait to start prying details out of Margaret." Charlie has a small smile on his face.

"Oh, and you will pass those onto me, right?" Zoey asks.

"Sure, and you need to find out what you can from your parents, too," Charlie suggests.

They enter Zoey’s bedroom and she heads straight for her dresser. There sitting on top is the pen, still in the box, that Leo had given her for her graduation. Zoey picks up the box and opens it. She removes the pen and removes it’s holder. There is an official looking piece of paper folded neatly underneath the holder. Zoey pulls out the paper and unfolds it. It‘s from a lawyer. It notifies her that she’s the owner of a condo at Dumbarton Court in Georgetown, a gift from Leo McGarry. She's to call for an appointment to come in and sign the deed. "So that’s what Leo meant by finding a use for this pen. Charlie, Leo gave me a condo, in Georgetown, for my graduation!"

Charlie is about to comment, when they hear the President yelling out in the hallway. They both leave her bedroom to find out what is going on. They arrive just in time to find Zoey’s mom questioning Zoey’s father about all the yelling.

"Jed, did I hear you yelling ‘five times’ in the hallway? Why in the world were you yelling that?" Abbey knows what that number refers to, because she had just gotten Margaret to spill the beans, but Abbey can’t help having some fun with Leo too.

Both Leo and Margaret’s faces have a nice warm red glow to them. Margaret’s giving Leo a very pointed look. Leo just shrugs his shoulders and gives her his best impish grin. Margaret reaches out and playfully swats him on the arm. She leans in close to his ear, "You’ll pay for that later tonight."

"I can only hope," Leo growls back to her.

"Hey what’s going on out here?" Zoey asks.

The four adults turn towards Zoey and Charlie who have come out into the hall to find out what all the noise is about.

"Nothing," Jed speaks up first, looking like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, using the oldest and lamest childish answer in the world.

"Well, nothing sure did make a lot of noise," Zoey fires back.

"I didn’t hear anything," Jed looks at the other adults standing next to him. "Did you guys?"

Leo, Margaret and Abbey are standing there rolling their eyes and shaking their heads, in disbelief, at Jed. It’s hard to believe that he’s considered to be one of the smartest men in the world. No wonder he can never get by with lying to Abbey.

"Honey, your Dad was just excited to find out some news about Leo and Margaret’s... wedding." Abbey tries to rescue the situation.

"Sounded like he was yelling five times. What does that have to do with a wedding?" Zoey could tell that the four individuals, standing in front of her, were covering up something and whatever it is had to be pretty embarrassing considering the appearance and coloring of Margaret and Leo’s faces.

"No Sweetie, your Dad was surprised to find out that Leo and Margaret want five kinds of..." Abbey is stumped at what to say.

"Nuts," Jed provides. This statement, of course, just makes matters worse. Abbey reaches out and slaps her husband, not very playfully, on the arm.

"Ouch, that hurt," Jed whines.

"Ok." Zoey slowly and deliberate responds to her Father.

"Hey, who’s ready for dessert?" Abbey quickly comes up with.

"I’m always up for dessert," Leo answers, in a low tone that is only audible to the three adults next to him, with a small grin on his lips. He just can’t resist getting in one last comment that would drive Jed crazy. His comment is rewarded with a slap on his arm from Margaret. "Hey," Leo starts rubbing the spot of the attack, "that hurt." He whines.

Zoey reaches out and playfully slaps Charlie on the arm.

"Hey, what did I do?" Charlie asks.

"Nothing, I just didn’t want you to feel like you were being left out," Zoey replies with a smile.

The two couples down at the other end of the hall watch the younger couple. They all have smiles on their faces at the site of Zoey being playful. It’s nice to see her having some fun again.

"Ok, come on guys, lets go see what the chef has come up with for dessert," Abbey says, without really thinking.

"Abbey!" Jed and Leo whine in unison.

"What?" Abbey wonders. Then it hits her and she starts to laugh. "Will you guys get your heads out of the gutter?" Which, of course, just makes matters worse. After getting themselves under control, they head back for the living room.

Zoey and Charlie wait for the others to get in front of them and then follow. Just as they are entering the living room, Zoey speaks up. "Leo, can I see you for a minute?" She motions for Charlie to go on into the room.

Leo walks over the where Zoey is waiting. "What ya need, Kid?"

"I just wanted to do this." Zoey throws her arms around her honorary uncle and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

"What’s this for?" Leo asks.

"Thank you for my graduation present."

"You’re welcome. Sorry it didn’t turn out the way I had planned." Leo lowers his head.

"Will you stop it? How many times will I have to tell you to stop blaming yourself?" Zoey pointedly instructs Leo.

"I’ll try."

"Ok."

"I had planned on dropping by the next day and seeing how you liked the pen. I figured that since, you have your Mom’s mouth, you’d have some smart comment about it. Then I’d surprise you by having you look under the flap." Leo has a lopsided grin on his face.

"Thanks, Uncle Leo." She gives him another hug and then pulls away.

"You know, I caught a lot of hell from Margaret, over your present," Leo comments.

"Really?" Zoey gives Leo a puzzled look.

"Yeah. I had her wrap it. She didn’t know about the real gift under the pen and she was on me about only giving you a pen. It was all I could do, not to smile, each time she brought the matter up." Leo’s face is covered with his best grin.

"You are so bad. Did you ever tell her?"

"No. But, I probably will now."

"Leo," Zoey says seriously, "I’m so glad that you two are getting married. Margaret’s such a sweet person who deserves to have someone love her and take care of her. I’m glad that you are finally learning that there are other things besides work, too."

"Yeah, thanks. She’s wonderful. I’m very lucky." Leo boasts. "Hey, we better get in there and get some dessert."

"Dessert sounds good. Plus, I’d better go rescue Charlie from Dad. I’m sure that he’s in there interrogating Charlie about what’s gong on between us."

"Just what is going on between you two?" Leo teases.

"Nothing," Zoey quickly follows that statement with a, "yet. Oh and by the way, five times, that pretty impressive for a man of any age!" Zoey walks away; leaving a very red faced Leo standing alone in the hallway.

Residence:

8:30

Leo and Margaret are sitting side by side on the love seat holding hands and Jed and Abbey are directly across from them, on the couch. Dessert is finished and Zoey and Charlie have gone off on a walk through the White House hallways.

"Where do you plan on getting married at?" Abbey says, breaking the silence of the food coma.

"We haven’t had a chance to really discuss any of the details. Whatever Margaret wants is fine with me." Leo says, with a smile. "Do you have anything in mind, Baby?"

"Not that I have ‘ever’ given this any thought, but I always thought that a White House wedding, would be nice," Margaret answers.

"Really?" Leo asks.

"Yeah. I assume that you will want the President for your best man," Margaret states.

"Already asked him," Leo points out.

"Well, I’ve always thought that a Rose Garden wedding would be nice, but that would mean waiting until spring and I don’t think Leo wants to wait that long."

"Baby, if you want it in the Rose Garden, I can wait," Leo tells his fiancée.

"I really don’t want to wait that long either," Margaret shyly admits.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"How long do you plan on waiting?" Jed asks.

"Well next month’s out because of the State of the Union," Leo answers.

Margaret bobs her head up and down in agreement.

"How about February? Do you think we can plan a wedding by then?" Leo looks at Margaret and waits for her answer. His eyes are almost pleading for her to say that they can.

"Honey, I think we can," Margaret answers.

"I’ll help and I’m sure that CJ and Donna will help too," Abbey speaks up.

"Oh, Leo, how about Valentines Day?" Margaret asks.

"That sound great, Baby. I think that’s the perfect day for us to get married," Leo announces.

"A White House wedding on Valentines Day, that sounds perfect," Jed agrees.

"Abbey, do you think we can get in to see your friend’s condo this weekend?" Leo asks.

"I’ll call her tomorrow. I’m sure it won’t be a problem. They’ve already moved out and want to sell it as soon as possible," Abbey explains.

"Leo, don’t you think that’s a lot of money to spend on a place that we’re just going to sleep at?" Margaret wonders.

"Baby, I don’t know about you, but I’m planning on doing a lot more than just sleeping there," Leo says, with an impish grin on his face.

"Leo!" Margaret squeaks as she slaps his leg.

"Hey, what’d I do?" Leo feigns.

"Will you two stop." Jed teases.

"Ok," they say in unison.

"Mr. President, It’s getting late and Margaret and I have a lot to discuss tonight, so I think we’re going to leave now."

"Yes, I’m sure you do. Abbey and I have things to discuss, too." Jed smirks.

"Leo, I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know about when you two can go see the condo."

Leo gives Abbey a strange look. "Ok, or you can just drop by the office an tell us tomorrow."

"Jed, didn’t you tell Leo?" Abbey stares at her husband.

"Tell him what?" Jed is clueless.

"About tomorrow." Abbey reaches over and gives his hand a firm squeeze.

"Oh, yeah, right. Um ... about tomorrow, Leo. You are not to come into work. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to see you for..." Jed looks at Abbey for some help. She holds up two fingers. Jed continues. "Two weeks, I know you have a ton of leave saved up and I’m ordering you and Margaret to take two weeks off."

Leo jumps up off the love seat. "Mr. President, I can’t take time off now, we have the State of the Union coming up soon."

"Leo, Toby can take care of that. Besides you’ll be back the week before that."

"But, Sir."

"Leo, we’re done talking about this subject. You will take two weeks off. Use this time to move and plan your wedding and try and relax. You are way too stressed."

"I can’t," Leo starts to say.

"Yes, you can and you will," Jed says, in his very Presidential voice. "We all know that you want what’s best for the administration."

"You know I do, Sir. But..."

The President interrupts his Chief of Staff. "Leo, you covered for me, these past few months, during the worst time in my life, now it’s my turn to return the favor, I need you and want you around for the rest of this administration and you won’t be, unless you take better care of yourself," Jed pleads with his oldest friend.

"I’m fine," Leo claims.

"Leo, take a good at yourself in the mirror. You have lost a lot of weight and your hand tailored suit just hangs on you. Those are some mighty dark circles under your eyes. I know you’re overworked and overstressed. Your panic attacks back me up there and just look at how you walk. I know you hate for me to ever mention this, but your limp has been unremitting these days." Jed knows that he’s really pushing it by referring to his limp.

Leo raises an eyebrow at the President. He’s about to inform Jed that he has crossed over the line. He starts to speak, but before he can say a word, Margaret beats him to it.

"Honey, its true. I know you don’t like to talk about it and I’ve never asked, but you appear to be in a lot of discomfort lately from your... um... leg. It always seems to flare up when you are overtired or overstressed, but lately it’s been a permanent fixture. Are you ok? Does Abbey need to make an appointment for you and have it checked out?"

Leo lets out a sigh. He knows that they mean well, but his old leg injury is not something he likes to discuss. It just reminds him of a time that he would rather forget. "It’s ok. There’s nothing that can be done about it. I really don’t want to talk about it any more." Leo looks pleadingly into Margaret’s eyes.

"Leo, you know, there’s been a lot of medical advances in the past twenty-five years, they might be able..." Abbey stops talking when she notices Leo shaking his head side to side.

"They can’t," Leo says, as he lowers his head.

"Sorry. I didn’t realize that you’d checked into it," Abbey says softly.

Margaret has a puzzled look on her face. She can’t believe that there’s another thing that he has successfully hidden from her. She wonders when he ever had the time to go to the doctors. She usually made all his appointments for him, including the doctor ones. She tries to bring some levity into the situation. "Leo, do I need to explain the rules on making appointments again? Are you confused?"

"Yeah," Leo catches on quick to what she is doing. "Would you jot those down for me again?" Leo says, with a small grin.

"Gladly" she responds.

"Ok, you two. Let’s stop the Abbott and Costello routine. I don’t want to see your face for two weeks," Jed announces.

"Leo, I think he means it. You really could use a rest. I can hold down the office while you’re gone." Margaret stands up next to Leo and takes his hand.

"Oh no, Margaret. The same goes for you too," the President informs Margaret.

"Sir, I’m fine. I don’t..." Margaret tries to say.

The President interrupts his Chief of Staff’s assistant. " Margaret, I know you took care of Leo during these last several months, so it’s the kettle calling the teapot black.  You are in need of as much rest and recovery as Leo is. You stayed here in the White House as long as he did, taking care of him.  You need to take care of him as well as yourself.  Both of you, this is your Christmas present from Abbey and me, get out of here and get to know each other better, away from here."

"We want both of you around for a long, long time to come, so go get your much needed rest," Abbey adds.

Leo shakes his head in defeat. He doesn’t have time for this. They have the State of the Union coming up and... and... But, then he remembers what’s really important now, Margaret. He turns to her and says. "Well, I guess we’re been thrown out of here for the next two weeks. Let’s go home and start planning our future."

"I’ll have Toby call if there’s a problem." Jed offers.

"Oh and Sir. Not a word about Margaret and me to the staff just yet. We’ll tell them later. I do plan on telling CJ though."

"Ok, mum’s the word. They won’t hear it from me," Jed tells them.

"Right, you’re the biggest gossip in the West Wing," Leo implies.

"I am not!" Jed denies.

"Are too," Leo proclaims.

"Not."

"Too."

"Boys! Play nice." Abbey interrupts.

"Yes, Mom," they answer in unison.

"Margaret, are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into?" Abbey questions.

"Well, I’m starting to wonder," she replies, with a smile on her face.

"Goodnight, you two," Abbey tells them.

"Ok, I’ll be at Margaret’s. Goodnight, Sir, Abbey," Leo says, as he hugs his two closest friends.

"Goodnight, Mr. President and Mrs. Bartlet." Margaret adds.

"Goodnight you two and Merry Christmas." Jed returns.

"Merry Christmas," they reply.

"I’ll call my friend, first thing tomorrow and set something up. Anytime’s ok?" Abbey asks them, before they head out.

"Yeah, since I can’t come to work, it appears that I’m free all day tomorrow," Leo replies.

Leaving Residence and on the Way to Leo’s Office:

9:00 pm

Leo takes Margaret’s hand and pulls her out into the hallway and down to the elevator. The doors open and they walk inside. As soon as the doors shut, Margaret smiles seductively and pushes Leo against the elevator wall and starts to assault him with kisses. She works her way up his neck and to his lips where she pushes her tongue into his mouth. Her hand starts to wonder to his backside and she pulls him into her. Leo just about loses it when Margaret brings her knee up between his legs and brushes against him. He moans into her mouth. Margaret brings around a hand and starts to massage the front of his pants.

"Margaret," Leo whines.

"What?" She whispers back into his ear.

"Um... nothing." He’s not about to tell her about the hidden camera in the elevator. He’s enjoying what she’s doing to him far too much to have her stop.

The elevator starts to slow down and Margaret pulls herself away from Leo.

"Margaret, look at me." He points down to the front of his pants. "How am I suppose to walk back to the office and get our coats, looking like this?"

Margaret lets out a giggle. "Very carefully, I guess."

"You’re no help. Walk in front of me, Ok?"

"Ok. But there’s almost certainly no one around anyway. Probably just some Secret Service agents and they already know about you and me."

"How do you find out about that?" Leo asks, in a surprised voice.

"Abbey told me that the President had you followed and that an agent witnessed our bay window activities." Margaret looks at Leo’s face and realizes that he already knew this. "You mean to tell me you already knew?"

"I um... sorta noticed um... when we were at the window in the middle of..." Leo sheepishly admits.

"And you didn’t tell me? We could’ve stopped and moved to the bed," Margaret declares.

"I was enjoying it far too much at the time to stop and besides, I’m sure that the agent couldn’t see anything really important," Leo states.

"Yeah, well. I owe you one for that and don’t you forget it."

"I think you just got me back," He says, as he looks down at the swelling in the front of his pants.

Margaret grabs his hand as the doors open and pulls him out of the elevator. They head off down the hall with Leo following close behind Margaret. They reach his office without running into anyone. Leo breathes a sigh of relief when they enter his office. He’s too busy getting his coat on and grabbing Margaret’s present to notice that Margaret has gone around to all of the doors in his office, and shut and locked them. She walks over to Leo and takes the present from his hand and lays it on his desk. She wraps her arms around Leo and continues to assault him like she had been earlier in the elevator. Leo starts to moan as she rubs herself against him. She slides Leo’s overcoat off and throws it aside. Next, she removes his suit jacket and tosses it on top of his overcoat. Then, Margaret reaches over and playfully snaps Leo’s suspenders.

"Hey, watch it,"  Leo growls.

"Oh, Leo," she kisses him, "you have no idea... I’ve wanted to do that for years!" Margaret hands drift down the front of his body.

She presses Leo back against his desk as she starts to undo his pants.

"Margaret, what are you doing?"

"I just thought I’d help you out with your problem here," She says, as she rubs her fingers along his zipper.

Leo moans as she unzips his pants. He starts to pull her dress up, but Margaret stops him. He has a confused look on his face as she continues on with her quest. She slowly pulls his suspenders off his shoulders and then pushes his pants and boxers down his legs, as she falls to her knees. Leo can’t believe what she’s doing to him in his office. But, he’s enjoying it far too much to worry about getting caught here at work. He’s never had anyone do this to him before and he can’t believe the sensations that it’s causing. Jenny had never offered to perform this act and he had never forced the issue. He runs his hands through Margaret’s hair as he pulls her closer to him and leans back further over top the desk. Leo has no restraint and it’s all over in a matter of a couple of minutes. He helps Margaret back up and kisses her. He is overwhelmed by what she has just done for him.

"Thanks, Baby, I really needed that after what you did to me in the elevator," Leo says, as a big grin grows on his face. Leo decides to return the favor and turns Margaret around so that her backside is now against his desk. He slides her dress up over her hips and drops to his knees, as he works her pantyhose and panties down her long sexy legs, kissing them as he goes. When he gets her undergarments off, she kicks them aside. Leo pushes her back onto the desk and starts working his way back up her thighs. When he reaches his destination, Margaret lets out a loud moan. Leo stops for a second and looks at her face. He can’t help but smile at the pleasure he’s giving her. He’s not exactly sure if he’s doing this right, but he follows her moans and continues on until she can’t take anymore and she lets go. Leo gives her a couple of seconds to recover as he stands up and then pulls her off the desk and into his arms.

"Oh, Leo, now you deserve a big thank you, too," Margaret says.

Leo’s face starts to turn red. He’s slightly embarrassed by her comments. "We should probably get going," Leo says, as turns to walk over and pick up Margaret’s undergarments. But, he’s forgotten that his pants are down around his ankles and he loses his balance and hits the floor hard.

Margaret rushes to Leo’s side. "Honey, are you alright?"

"Yeah." He reaches under him and pulls out one of Margaret’s high heel shoes. "But I almost impaled myself on your shoe," Leo says, as he starts to laugh. He reaches up to where Margaret is kneeling next to him and pulls her down onto the floor with him. She, too, starts to laugh. Leo rolls them over until he is on top of her and starts kissing her neck. They are interrupted by a knock on the hallway door. They both jump at the sound.

"Hey, is anyone in there?"

Leo looks at Margaret. "Its Josh." They whisper, in unison. Both of them lay there frozen, with Leo still on top of her, trying very hard not to make a sound. They remain very still until they hear Josh’s footsteps walk down the hall. Leo rolls off of Margaret and they both breathe a sign of relief.

"That was close," Leo says.

"Yeah."

"I don’t think we’ll being doing this in here again, anytime soon," Leo whispers into Margaret’s ear.

Margaret loves it when Leo whispers in her ear. It drives her wild. She gets that look in her eye and starts to kiss Leo. "I don’t know about that," She sexily whispers into Leo’s ear, as she starts rubbing herself against his leg.

"Baby, I think I’m going to need some more time before I can... um," Leo starts to say.

Margaret interrupts him by thrusting her tongue into his mouth, Leo responds to her kiss and starts fondling her breasts. She reaches up and takes Leo by his hand and guides it down her body.

Leo catches on quickly and pulls Margaret dress up over her hips and then he works at getting the straps of her dress down in order to gain access to her breasts. Margaret willingly helps slide down the top of her dress, until she is exposed. Leo’s hand travels back down her body and when he reaches her core he is surprised to find her so ready. "Oh, Baby, so warm, so nice. Tell me, what do you like?"  He says, as he sucks a nipple into his mouth.

Margaret takes his hand and shows him the best way to bring her delight. She lets out a loud moan as he starts to manipulate her. Leo’s taking his time and enjoying what he’s doing to her. After a few minutes he dips into her, and a few moments later he adds another and at the sounds of her pleasure building he adds a third. She’s going crazy now, moving against his hand and moaning. "Yes, Leo... that’s...."

These distorted sounds softly float out into Leo’s outer office, where Josh has gone to look for the file that brought him to Leo’s office in the first place. He stops dead in his tracks and stares at the door. A smile covers his face and he shakes his head a little. He really can’t make out, exactly what’s going on in there, but he knows one thing for sure, it’s Leo and Margaret. Apparently, CJ was right. Josh had given the matter a lot of thought after CJ had mentioned the other day how she thought that Leo and Margaret had feelings for each other. Josh had pretty much come to the conclusion that CJ was correct and now he knows for sure. Josh and Leo really haven’t been very close for a few months now, and he figures that’s why he missed it before. Josh really misses the closeness that Leo and he once shared. Things have started to get better between them lately and he hopes it continues to improve. If two people ever deserved to find some happiness, it was Leo and Margaret. He’s really happy that they have finally decided to act on their feelings.  Josh decides he’d better leave the area, before they discover he’s out here. He quietly heads back to his office. 

Margaret is arching her back as Leo nips down a little harder on her nipple. That does it and she goes flying over the edge with a cry of pleasure. Leo wraps his arms around her and enjoys holding her as she comes back down to earth.

"Oh, Leo, That was... wonderful. I love you." There are tears of joy in her eyes.

"Baby, I love giving you pleasure anytime and anywhere," Leo tells her as he kisses her on her nose. They lay there for a while, just enjoying holding on to one another.

After a while, Margaret starts to get up. She pulls her dress back up and fixes the straps. She reaches down and helps Leo up off the floor. He moans in pain as she pulls him up.

"Honey, are you ok?" Margaret asks, with a worried look on her face.

"Yeah, I’m just getting too old to lay on the floor anymore." Leo admits, as he starts rubbing his hip. "I think I bruised my hip when you pushed me down," Leo says with a lopsided grin, as he tries to derail any comments from Margaret, about his bad leg.

"I didn’t push you down. You tripped over your own pants. You’re a klutz," she smirks back at him.

"I am not, I was pushed. You just wanted to get me on the floor, so that I would ravish you." Leo grabs a hold of her and pulls her into his arms.

"And you, are just trying to keep me from asking about your leg," she kisses his brow, the one that droops when he’s tired.

"Are my tactical maneuvers working?" Leo asks her.

"Not so much, but I won’t bother you about it, right now," she kisses his sagging brow again.

"Yeah?" He sighs.

"Yeah," She echoes.

"Ok."

"You better pull your pants back up, before you go sprawling all over the floor again," Margaret tells Leo as she backs away from him a little and casts her eyes on his manhood. "Plus, if you stand around like that much longer, I may not be able to control myself," she leers.

"Margaret," Leo whines, as he quickly pulls his shirttail down to cover himself up.

"Honey, ‘come’ on. Let’s go home and see what else we can come ‘up’ with tonight," Margaret says, as she finishes rearranging her dress. Margaret’s really is enjoying tormenting Leo. She figures, that if he won’t be truthful with her when his leg is bothering him, he’s gonna have to pay for it.

Leo groans at the use of her words. "Margaret, I said it before and I’ll say it again. You’re going to be the death of me!" Leo’s trying to pull his boxers and pants back up and then tuck his shirt back into his pants.  But, he’s having a little difficulty performing this normal everyday task, because Margaret’s innuendos have gotten him a little excited, again.

Leo gazes over at Margaret and flashes her his best impish grin, as he struggles with his pants. She’s standing there with her hand on her hip and is shaking her head in wonderment. She still finds it astonishing that it was only just a few short hours ago that they began this journey, as a couple.

Leo finally gets his pants zipped and heads for his over coat and suit jacket that somehow found themselves, on the floor in a pile, behind his chair. He bends down to pick them up, trying his best not to let out a pained sigh. He really did hurt himself when he fell and he knows that he’s going to be real stiff and sore in the morning. He puts both of his coats back on and grabs Margaret’s present from his desk and escorts Margaret out into her area and helps her on with her over coat. They leave the office, this time, hand and hand, not caring if anyone sees them.


	11. Christmas Without You 11

**Christmas Without You**

**by:[ AdoreLeo](mailto:rockfordfilesfan@aol.com)**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

Dec 25, 2003

Residence

9:00 Pm

Jed and Abbey have just said goodnight to Leo and Margaret and are now heading for their bedroom. They are both tired from this evening's events, but not too tired to forget about Abbey’s last present for Jed.

"Abbey, I think I’m going to call Ron and let him know that Leo and Margaret are not permitted in the White House for the next two weeks. If I know Leo, he’ll try and find a way back to work before then," Jed says, as he reaches for the phone.

"Okay, but don’t be too long, Dear. Remember, you still have one last present to unwrap tonight." Abbey reminds him as she walks off into the bathroom giving him that look that drives him wild.

"Don’t worry, Sweet Knees, I haven’t forgotten, I’ll be right with you after I talk with Ron," Jed says as he picks up the phone and waits for the White House operator. "Yes, can you find out if Ron Butterfield is still in the White House?" Jed waits a couple of seconds for a response. "Okay, Would you please have him come to the Residence? Thanks."

Ron has been with the Secret Service for a little over twenty years now. This is the second President that he has helped to protect, but it is the first time that he has been the head of the Presidential detail. He was very surprised when he was put in charge of the detail over some five years ago, because he was not the ranking agent at the time and had only been on the previous President’s detail during his last term in office. He had found out later, that Leo McGarry had recommended to President Bartlet that he be put in charge of the detail. This wasn’t just a rumor that he had heard, the President told him after the shooting in Rosslyn.

Ron is making his rounds through the White House Secret Service Command Center. Since it’s Christmas, most of the agents manning the office are new or don’t have families, and he wants to make sure that everything is running smoothly before he leaves the White House for the evening.

Ron makes his way to the camera room to check up on the newest agent. He’s only been in the room for a couple of minutes when Leo and Margaret get into the elevator. The agent manning to camera station pulls them up onto the main monitor, since nothing else is moving in the White House. As soon as the agent does this, Margaret makes her attack on Leo.

"Hey, isn’t that the Chief of Staff, Leo McGarry?" The new agent says in a shocked voice.

"Yes," Ron says with a smile on his face. He knows that Leo and Margaret are together now. Agent Cooper gave him a full report when he got back this morning from his special assignment. Ron is happy that they have finally found their way to each other.

"Isn’t that his secretary?" The rookie agent gasps as he watches Margaret run her hands over Leo’s body. "So, the rumor I heard..." The agent looks up at Ron who has moved closer to the monitors.

"Margaret is his assistant," Ron corrects the agent, "and, we do not comment on the personal lives of the people we protect."

"Sorry, Sir," the young agent offers, "it’s just that... well earlier today... I heard that there might be something is going on between the two of them." The new agent turns his attention back to the bank of monitors.

Ron acknowledges the agent with a nod as he reaches over the agent and hits the stop button on the recorder and then the rewind. He removes the elevator camera from the main monitor and pulls up an empty hallway. He then hits record and tapes over the elevator incident.

"I’ve read most of the senior staff files. She’s been working for him for years. Wasn’t she his assistant at the Labor Department?" The over curious clean-cut agent asks as he watches Ron tape over the incident.

"Yes, she was."

"How long do you think this been going on? Wasn’t he married while he was at the Labor Department?" The agent stares at the smaller monitor that is now displaying the elevator.

"I just told you, we don’t comment on the personal lives..." Ron pauses, he doesn’t want the agent to get the wrong impression of Leo and Margaret. "It’s very recent." Ron is about it say more, when his pager goes off. He looks at the message. "Excuse me, I need to go see the President." Ron walks to the door, stops and turns to face the young agent. "In our line of work we see a lot of things, just remember, sometimes things are not always as they appear." Ron informs the new agent as he turns and heads off to the Residence.

Ron heads off to the Residence and can’t help but think back to the first time he met Leo and Margaret.

********** Flashback to Spring 1993 **********

The first time that they met, Leo was not in the best of shape. Ron’s not even sure that Leo remembers. But, he knows that Margaret remembers. Ron was working out of the downtown Secret Service office, when they received a call late one night that a Cabinet member had been mugged. Ron was the agent to respond. When he arrived at the scene, he found Leo McGarry, the Labor Secretary, was the person who had been mugged. Ron knew of Leo and his rumored drinking problems. Ron had seen him a few times and knew that he was a high-ranking member of the Democratic Party.

Leo was bruised and had a cut on his hand from where he had fallen when he was attacked. He was also very drunk and belligerent. Ron tried to take him to the hospital to be checked, but he refused to go. Then Ron offered to take him home, but Leo was even more adamant that he couldn’t go there. Finally, Leo gave Ron another address and when they got there, a tall redheaded woman answered the door.

"Mr. McGarry, what happened?"

********** End of Spring 1993 flashback **********

 

Ron enters the elevator and recognizes the faint scent of Margaret’s perfume. He looks up at the hidden camera in the corner and smiles. He exits the elevator and heads off to the President’s bedroom. He knocks on door and awaits permission to enter.

"Come in," the President calls from behind the door.

"Mr. President," Ron says as he enters the room and walks over to the President. "You needed to see me, Sir?"

"Yes, Ron," the President says as he rubs the back of his neck trying to decide how to solicit Ron’s help. "I have a request... well sort of a favor to ask you." Jed realizes that his request is unusual at best.

Ron nods his head. "Okay, Sir."

"Ron, Leo and Margaret just umm... left here and they are... well... they are a couple now and I want you to inform all of your agents that neither one of them is allowed back into the White House for the next two weeks. Unless I say so." The President informs Ron.

"Okay," Ron says in an unsure voice. He’s not used to keeping people like Leo McGarry out of the White House.

"Ron, they both have been under a great deal of stress lately, especially Leo. You know about the incident in his office last night, but there are more things going on too," the President informs Ron.

"Sir, is it something I need to be made aware of?" A concerned Ron asks his President.

"Ron, I know I don’t need to say this, but I will. Whatever I tell you, I want you to keep it just between us, okay?" the President moves over to the couch and sits down. He motions for Ron to sit in the chair across from him.

"You know I will, Sir."

"Ron, Leo has been having panic attacks. Abbey thinks that he will probably start getting better now that some issues have been straightened out and dealt with." The President pauses. "But, there is still a chance that they could still happen and I thought you should know about them."

Ron nods his head. He’s well aware of some of the things that have been going on with Leo. He knows that the First Lady tore into Leo after their July meeting on Zoey’s new security protocol. He also knows that Leo has been pressed to his limits and is on the verge of breaking. He’s happy to find out that things are changing for the better for both Leo and Margaret. Margaret has been suffering right along side Leo. "Thank you, Sir. I don’t see his attacks being a security risk, but we might want to inform his agents in case something happens, so they can be prepared to deal with it." Ron concludes.

"Ron," the President folds his arms and leans back into the couch. "If that’s what you think you should do, then fine." The president pauses, he knows Leo isn’t going to be happy about this. "But, you might want to mention it to Leo first. He should be told that you are telling his agents."

Ron nods his head in agreement. He knows that the President is right. It’s just not something he wants to have to do. Approaching Leo McGarry about personal issues is not something you really want to do. "Okay, Sir. I’ll take care of it the first chance I get."

"Thanks, Ron," the President says, as he gets up off the couch walks towards the door. "Merry Christmas."

Ron stands after the President does and also heads for the door. "Merry Christmas, Sir," Ron says, as he leaves the Residence and heads back to his office, while he tries to figure out how he is going to tell Leo.

Just outside Leo’s Office:

9:15 pm

Leo and Margaret have only made it a few feet from Leo’s office when they run into Ron Butterfield. He appears to be on his way out of the building, too. He has on his traditional black Secret Service overcoat and he is carrying a briefcase. He slows down when he sees them. As soon as Margaret sees Ron she drops Leo’s hand and starts to get a little fidgety. Leo grins at her actions. He’s pretty sure that Ron is already aware of their relationship. Dollars to donuts, Leo thinks, that Ron has been kept in the loop, since his passing out on the floor of his office yesterday

"Ron," Leo says, as he slows and then stops when Ron does the same. Leo can’t help but notice that the agent has something on his mind and usually it’s not good news when Ron comes to visit him.

"Leo, Margaret." Ron replies as he stands there in the hallway looking very uncomfortable.

"Ron, is there something wrong? Do you need me?" Leo asks, as he puts a hand on Margaret’s arm in an effort to get her to calm down a little. He knows how her mind works. She always assumes the worst, anymore, whenever Ron comes by to see Leo.

"Well... no there’s nothing wrong. I do want to talk to you sometime, but it’s not that important... it can wait," the tall lanky agent replies, as he readjusts his grip on his briefcase.

"That’s okay," Leo looks at Margaret who is nodding her head in agreement. "I’ve got a couple of minutes. Let’s go into my office."

"Okay." Ron quickly glances at a tired Margaret. "Sorry, Margaret, but this won’t take long."

"That’s okay, Ron." She turns and heads back to her office. "Do you want me to make you some coffee?"

"No thanks, I won’t hold you two up that long." Ron reassures them as he looks at his watch.

Ron and Leo follow behind Margaret as she heads back into the office that she and Leo had left just a couple minutes ago. Leo walks into his office and Ron follows him. Ron notices that Leo is really favoring his right leg tonight. He hasn’t seen him limp this much, since he fell back in July.

Leo walks to the other side of his office, removes his overcoat and throws it over one of the chairs in front of his desk. He then moves to his couch and slowly sits down. He motions for Ron to sit down in a chair next to the couch. "Ron, what did ya need?" Leo tries unsuccessfully to keep a grimace off of his face as he settles into the couch.

Ron notices Leo’s pained expression, but decides not to inquire about it. Leo is a very private man and Ron isn’t looking forward to what he needs to discuss with him. "Leo, I just came from seeing the President," Ron pauses. He’s not good at this type of conversation, especially when it involves the likes of one Leo McGarry. Ron has always liked Leo and respected him, even after having dealt with a drunken argumentative Leo, but he is still a little leery of his famous temper.

"I suppose that Mr. Big Mouth told you about Margaret and me?" Leo smirks as he leans back further into the couch. Leo had suspected that this might be what Ron wanted to talk with him about. But, he can’t figure out why it’s any of the Secret Service’s business.

Ron gets a faint smile on his face and nods his head. He has witnessed a lot of interplay between Leo and the President these past five years. There have been several times when it has taken every being of his fiber not to laugh out loud at their interchanges. He has never witnessed a stronger friendship than the one that they share. "Yes, the President did mention that you would be moving in together and plan to get married."

"Yes, we are." Leo shifts his position in his chair. His right leg and hip are really starting to bother him. He’s not looking forward to the drive back to Margaret’s apartment. He wishes now that he would have kept his driver so he didn’t have to drive himself. "Just as soon as we can. Is there a security issue with this?" Leo is starting to get a little annoyed with the direction that this conversation is taking and the discomfort that he is experiencing from the right side of his body is not helping the situation.

"No, it’s not an issue." Ron assures him. "Just inform us of your new address and phone number." Ron leans forward in his chair. "Leo, um... I really needed to talk to you about is that... well I just wanted to suggest that you let me inform your security detail of the problems you’ve been experiencing lately. I know we have cut back from the twenty-four seven protection that we had for you a few months ago, but you still require protection at certain places and times. I feel it would be a good thing for your agents to be aware of certain things."

Leo has a puzzled look on his face, and then it dawns on him what Ron is referring to. "He told you about that too, huh?" At first, Leo is a little disturbed that the President told Ron about what has been going on with him, but then he realizes that the President is just looking out for him.

"Yes, the President mentioned that you have been having a few panic attacks." Ron leans back in his chair and rests his hands on his legs. "Leo, this poses no security risk, but I just think that your agents should be made aware, in case you suffer from an attack while they are protecting you. So, they would be able to help or cover for you."

Leo leans forward and rests his arms on his knees and clasps his hands together. He looks directly at Ron. "Yeah, I suppose that they should know." Leo reluctantly agrees. He really hates the idea of having anyone know about any weakness that he might have.

"Leo, you know that the agents do know how to keep a secret?" Ron reassures the Chief of Staff. Ron can tell by Leo’s demeanor that he is not happy about his agents needing to be informed about his panic attacks.

"God, I hope so," Leo smirks as he thinks back to last night and what happened at the bay window.

"Leo, what you’re experiencing is fairly common after a traumatic incident." Ron’s aware that Zoey’s kidnapping is the cause of Leo’s problems. He also knows that things have been strained between him and the First Lady. But, he assumes that situation must be getting better, since Leo and Margaret had dinner in the Residence tonight.

Leo face turns serious and his body goes rigid. Ron and he have never discussed anything about Zoey’s kidnapping since her rescue, other than her new security protocol. It’s not something that Leo has discussed with anybody. "I know, Ron, it’s just..."

Ron stops him before he can complete his sentence. He realizes that Leo carries a tremendous amount of guilt about this. "Leo, you need to stop blaming yourself. It wasn’t your fault that Zoey was kidnapped. It was an act of terrorism." Ron tries to convince him.

"Ron," Leo implores, as his hands start to sweat and his heart starts to beat faster, "I talked the President into ..."

"You did your job," Ron interrupts him again. "We... we all did. But sometimes it just isn’t enough." Ron pauses as he decides whether or not to divulge certain information. "After Rosslyn, we had an agent who had some similar problems, like you are going though right now." Ron lowers his head ever so slightly. "He felt that he hadn’t done enough to protect the President. That he should have been able to keep him from getting shot." Ron absentmindedly starts to rub his scarred hand. "He too, felt like it was his fault."

Leo stares at Ron and takes in what he has just said. He quickly realizes that Ron is talking about himself. "Ron, you saved the man’s life. If you haven’t reacted as fast as you did..."  Leo shudders at the thought of what might of happened on the night of the shooting.

"I realize that now," Ron looks at Leo. "But for a while, after the shooting, all I could focus on was that he was shot and if I would have acted quicker..." Ron pauses, then stands.

"Ron," Leo stands up too. "Go ahead and tell the agents. I don’t think its going to be much of an issue anymore," Leo says as he glances towards Margaret’s office, "but tell’em anyway."

"Okay. Leo," Ron pauses and glances up at the ceiling for a second. "Another reason I wanted to speak with you is to let you know that when I first met you and Margaret years ago, I thought that... well... I thought that... you two were... but after working with you two here in the White House I realized that I was wrong. I just wanted to tell you that... I’m sorry."

"Ron, you have nothing to be sorry about. The first time we met, and yes, I do remember it by the way, would have lead anybody to that conclusion. I’m not sure you were that far off as it turns out now. I mean nothing happened between Margaret and I until last night, but I think we have been blind to it for years or at least in denial," Leo smiles.

"You’re a very lucky man, Leo." Ron looks down at his shoes and then slowly raises his head back towards Leo, "I could tell that Margaret was special lady the first time I saw her. Congratulations, I hope you’re both very happy together." Ron extends his hand to Leo.

Leo shakes Ron’s Hand. "Thanks, Ron. I couldn’t agree with you more on that. Margaret is something else," Leo acknowledges with a huge grin.

"Leo, um... earlier tonight um..." Ron glances back down at his shoes. "I was in the Video room in the Agency Command Center." Ron pauses and looks back up at Leo. "I just wanted to let you know that we had ...um...a technical problem with the White House cameras recording a particular area of the Residence tonight." 

Leo turns his head to the side and rolls his eyes as his face flushes as he realizes that Ron saw them in the elevator tonight.  He knew that some agent had probably witnessed it, but he’s even more embarrassed that it was Ron. Leo turns his face back to Ron. "Yeah?"

Ron turns his head to the side and smiles at Leo’s uneasiness.  "Yeah, but now there is nothing to worry about."

"Okay, thanks Ron," Leo tells him.

"Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time." Ron turns and heads for the door that leads to hallway. He takes a hold of the doorknob and then turns back to Leo. "There is just one more thing."

"Okay?"

"Leo," Ron hesitates and shifts from one foot to the other. "Thanks for recommending me for this job."

Before a stunned Leo could respond, the fast acting Secret Service agent is out the door. Leo drops back into the couch and wonders how Ron knows about that. He’s pretty sure that only one person could be responsible for that, Mr. White House Gossip, himself. He sits there on the couch for a while and thinks back to the first time he had met Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield.

********** Flashback Spring 1993 **********

Leo and Jenny were attending a charity fundraiser event at a local hotel in the District and he has been drinking. As usual they get into a fight about his drinking at the event and Jenny leaves and goes home without him. Leo stays for a little while longer and spends much of that time drinking. He decides to walk back to his office. The Labor Department is just a few short blocks from the hotel that the fundraiser is being held at and it’s a warm spring night. He can spend the night at the office on his couch. He has done it before. It isn’t the most comfortable couch, but it’s better than going home to Jenny and listening to her yell at him again about his excessive drinking.

He has walked two or three blocks when someone grabs a hold of him and slams him into the wall of a building. His face scrapes along side the building and his hand gets caught on something. The mugger then turns him around and punches him in the face. Leo falls to the ground. Leo didn’t have a chance of defending himself because of the alcohol-induced shape that he is already in.  The man kicks him a couple of times in the ribs and then starts searching him for his wallet. It’s all over in a matter seconds. A passer by finds him and calls the police. The DC Police Officer recognizes him and calls the Secret Service. He’ll let them deal with the drunk and injured Cabinet member.

The agent who responds is Ron Butterfield. He quickly checks Leo over for any signs of serious injuries. He unwraps the bloodied handkerchief from his hand. "Sir, we need to get you to the hospital and get you checked out."

"No," Leo slurs, "I’m fine."

"Sir, your hand could probably use some stitches." The tall clean-cut agent tries to convince him to go to the hospital.

"Naaah, it’s fine." Leo is still drunk, so the pain in his ribs that he is experiencing right now is quite mild right now.

"Mr. McGarry, I really think you should go to the hospital," the patience agent strongly suggests.

"No!" Leo growls. "I’m fine. I just need to lay down somewhere." Leo is starting to get more than just a little annoyed with this agent.

"Sir, what’s your address?" Ron realizes that Leo’s not going to let him take him to the hospital. Maybe his wife will have better luck with him.

"Damnit!" Leo bellows. "I’m not going home. You can take me to my office. I have a couch there, I’ll be fine."

"Sir, you really need to have someone with you, in case..." The agent tries to explain to him.

"I’m not going home!" Leo starts to get up off the curb.

Ron helps him up. "Mr. McGarry, let me take you home."

"NO!" Leo starts to stumble away from him.

Ron grabs a hold of his arm. "Mr. McGarry, I can’t let you walk away. You’re in no shape to be on your own."

"Fine. Then take me to 312 North Twenty-Second Street." Leo finally relents as he sways on his feet.

Ron helps Leo to his car and starts off across the city. The trip takes only a few minutes. Ron pulls up to the building. "Sir, we’re here."

"Okay," Leo mumbles. By the time they get to the address, Leo is starting to sober up a little and the pain in his ribs is starting to make itself known.

Ron helps him up the steps and knocks on the door. "Secret Service Agent, Ron Butterfield." He responds when the voice behind the door asks who it is.

The door opens and reveals a tall redheaded woman in her mid twenties. Who promptly asks what is wrong with Mr. McGarry. Leo can tell that the agent is shocked, but he hides it well.

Margaret escorts Leo to her couch and starts fussing over him. Ron stands in the background and watches. Leo knows what the agent must be thinking, but he is too exhausted and in too much pain now to really care.

Leo watches Margaret and Ron, who have moved across the room. He overhears Ron offer to stay and help and then sees him give Margaret his card. Margaret tries to explain away Leo’s condition and tells the agent that he’s not seeing him at his best. Leo almost snorts at this statement. He hasn’t been at his best in years. The agent politely nods and then tells him goodnight.

Margaret walks back over to Leo and offers him coffee. They sit and drink it, and then Margaret starts cleaning him up. She keeps going on about his hand needing stitches. It isn’t bothering him at all. But the more time that passes, the more sober he gets and the more the pain in his ribs increases, too. When Margaret has him stand up, he doubles over in pain. That’s the last straw for Margaret. She calls Jenny, who conveniently isn’t home, and then Margaret loads him up into her car and takes him to the hospital. After a little over a two-hour wait in the GW emergency room, Leo finally gets x-rayed. He’s getting stitches in his hand from an intern when the results come back.

"Mr. McGarry," the young doctor says, as he walks into the treatment room. "Rib three is cracked and possibly rib four too. We’re going to need to wrap your ribs. You’ll have to keep them like that for a few weeks. You will also need to follow up with your private physician, too. I’m going to write you a prescription for the pain." The doctor flips open a small pad and starts writing. "Is there anyone here to take you home?"

Leo nods his head, "Yeah."

"Okay, then I’m going to give you something for the pain now and then you get the prescription filled tomorrow." The young doctor quickly wraps his ribs.

"Thanks." Leo says to the young doctor’s back as he quickly hurries off to the next patient.

Soon after the doctor leaves a nurse comes in and gives Leo some pills to take for the pain. Then nurse helps him back on with his shirt. Leo walks out to the waiting room to find an anxious Margaret waiting for him. She jumps up the second she sees him and rushes to his side. "Mr. McGarry, are you okay?"

"I’m fine, Margaret," Leo says, as he looks around the waiting room. "Jenny never showed up?"

"No," Margaret shakes her head. "Maybe she didn’t get the message," Margaret said as she bit her bottom lip.

"Yeah, maybe." A dejected Leo softly says, as he reaches over to pick up his coat that is lying on the back on a chair in the waiting room, his face contorts in pain and his hand automatically grabs his injured ribs and he lets out a gasp of pain.

"Mr. McGarry, are you ok?" Margaret picks up the coat for him. "What did the doctor say?"

"I have a couple of cracked ribs." He surrenders as he starts to leave the waiting room.

"And your hand?"

"Only four stitches." Leo looks at his secretary. "I think they just wanted to practice on me. I still say my hand didn’t need any." He holds his throbbing bandaged hand up for her to see.

"Yeah, right. That’s why you keep bleeding all over my floor." Margaret smirks as she takes a hold of his arm and starts to walk him out the door. "Come on, let’s get you home."

"Margaret, umm... could you take me to the office instead. I ..." Leo’s sad pleading eyes are almost her undoing.

"Mr. McGarry, you’re not going to the office. You should go home and get into your bed." Margaret instructs. "And you better not show you face at work for the next couple of days either. You need to rest your ribs. Besides, its Friday night, there is nothing in the office that can’t wait until Monday or even until later into the week. You should take a few days off, Sir."

"Margaret, I’m fine. If I want to go into work this weekend, I will," Leo growls as they make their way through the parking lot. "What are you my mother?" Leo smirks to her.

"Mr. McGarry," a very exasperated Margaret says, "you are, by far, the most stubborn and obstinate man that I have ever worked for." Margaret unlocks her car door, opens it for him and helps him into the car. "Do I have to go over your head to keep you out of the office?"

"Do you realize that you just called me two names that all mean exactly the same thing," Leo snorts, "Besides, who are you going to call? It’s not like you can just pick up the phone and call the President," Leo informs her.

"True, but I can call that nice clean-cut Secret Service agent from tonight. I bet he would love to file a glowing report with the President about what happened tonight. I’m sure you made his list of people he would love never to have to deal with again," Margaret threatens him as she shuts his door.

"Margaret, are you trying to blackmail me?" Leo looks over at his assistant who has now joined him in the car. For the first time he really notices just how beautiful she really is. Maybe it’s the red flush, from her anger, to her cheeks that has made the difference.

Margaret turns the key to the car and glares back at Leo. "You bet your ass I am." She growls back at him as she puts the car into gear and pulls out of its parking spot and makes her way out onto the street.

Leo is taken back by her demeanor. He’s never seen her like this before. What the hell happened to his mild mannered secretary, he thinks. "Okay, take me home," He begrudgingly tells her. He just can’t wait to get home and have Jenny sing her ‘I told you so song’.

The drive to Leo’s house in Chevy Chase takes about thirty minutes. Leo went right to sleep and stayed that way for most of the trip. The pain medicine they gave him at the hospital must have been pretty strong to knock him out that fast. Margaret couldn’t help but think that this was a bad thing and she wishes they hadn’t given him something so strong. Margaret pulls her car into his driveway. "Mr. McGarry, we’re here." She reaches over and gently nudges his arm. "Sir, you’re home."

Leo gradually opens his weary blood shot eyes and glares at his large Tudor style house. "Okay," he quietly says, as reaches for the doorknob on the car and then slowly and painfully turns back towards Margaret and tenderly places a hand on his secretary’s slender arm. "Margaret, .... I umm... thanks for everything tonight... you’re a good girl."

"You’re welcome, Mr. McGarry," she shyly responds to his kindness as she fights off a yawn. She quickly looks at her watch and discovers that it’s now three o’clock in the morning.

"Margaret," Leo smirks. "I think... that after all we have been through tonight, you should start calling me Leo." Leo looks at her with pleading eyes. "Please, I really wish you would."

"Okay," Margaret timidly responds as she lays a soft hand on top of Leo’s hand that is still resting on her arm. Then she pleasantly says, "Leo."

Leo gives her an impish grin. She said his name so sweetly. In a way that he hasn’t heard in it said in such a long time. "Thank you." He gets out of the car and then carefully turns. "I’ll see ya on Monday." He says, as he quickly shuts the door before she has a chance to argue with him.

After that night, things changed between Margaret and him. She no longer was just his secretary. She was more like the force behind the man. Leo still bellowed for her all the time, but she loved to hear him yell her name. They were more like partners than worker and boss. They became quite a team to be reckoned with. She always knew exactly what he needed, right before he needed it. But Leo’s demons wouldn’t leave him alone. Soon after that the mugging Leo hit rock bottom and went into rehab at Sierra Tucson. Margaret covered for him while he was gone. She also kept close tabs on him. He talked to her more than he did his own wife. After he got out of rehab, he only stayed with the Labor Department for a short time. He resigned his Cabinet position and took Margaret into the private sector with him. He couldn’t imagine having everyone else work with him.

Leo also kept tabs of the Secret Service agent, Ron Butterfield that helped him that night that he was mugged. He was impressed with the way the agent had handled a drunken high-ranking Government Official and the whole situation. The agent had been very pleasant and respectful to Margaret. After Leo got back from rehab, he discovered that Ron had been assigned to the President’s security detail and was quickly making a name for himself as a dedicated and resourceful agent. Leo followed the agent’s career with interest, especially after he convinced Jed to run for President. Leo figured that if Jed won, he would need an agent full of compassion and integrity to lead Jed’s security detail.

********** End of Spring 1993 flashback **********

 

 

Leo smiles at the memory of the first time that Margaret called him Leo. That was over ten years ago he thinks. He slowly and painfully gets up from the couch and heads for her office. "Well there, are ya ready to go?" Leo walks over to her extra chair and grabs her coat from the back of it.

"Hmm.." A half asleep Margaret responds as her head automatically bobs to the sound of his voice.

Leo walks over to her and places a kiss on top of her hair. "Come on sleepy head, let’s get out of here before anyone else finds us,"  Leo wearily tells her as he breaths in the scent of her hair.

"Okay," Margaret sweetly smiles up at him as she takes the hand that he extends and gets up out of her hard desk chair. "It’s going to be nice to spend a few days away from here," she tells him as she slips back into her coat that Leo is holding out for her.

"Yeah... I was just thinking the same thing, Miss McGuire," Leo says as he guides her with a hand in the small of her back, out of the office.

Margaret gives him a sweet smile. "Good, then let’s go, Mr. McGarry." She coos back at him as they head down the hall, once again, hand in hand.

Leaving White House Grounds

On the Way to Margaret’s Apartment:

9:45 pm

As Leo and Margaret depart the West Wing by the southwest exit, they discover freshly fallen snow jacketing the White House grounds. This delicate white blanket makes for a picturesque but precarious journey to Leo’s car. The frosty pavement does provide the perfect excuse for Margaret to hold onto Leo’s arm, as they make their trek to his coveted parking space.

 

Once they reach his car, Leo takes Margaret by the hand and helps her into the car. He has to resist the urge to give her a kiss as she settles into her seat. He finally gives in to his impulse and kisses her fingertips. Leo carefully moves around the front of the vehicle and joins her inside. He starts the car and turns on the wipers in an effort to remove the snow from the windshield. The wipers push the snow off the window, but they have no effect on the thin layer of ice that has built up during their visit to the Residence tonight.

"I never can find the damn thing when I need it." Leo complains, as he starts searching the backseat for the ice scraper. "Why the hell did I think it was a good idea to give my driver the night off?"

"Because, it was the right thing to do with it being Christmas Day, Honey," Margaret informs Leo.

"Damnit, the scraper must be in the trunk," Leo huffs as he starts to get out of the car.

Margaret reaches over and places a hand on his arm to stop him. "Leo, we can just wait until the car warms up enough and let the defroster do its job."

"That might take a few minutes. Aren’t you cold?" Leo quivers, as he’s rubbing his gloveless hands together trying to keep them warm. 

"Yeah, but I think we can find a way to pass the time and keep ourselves warm at the same time," Margaret seductively whispers while scooting over a little closer to him. She is surprised by her own boldness this evening. This man really brings out the worst in her.

"Margaret," Leo groans. "Are you suggesting the we make out in my car on the White House grounds?" Leo is astounded by the daringness that Margaret displays, once again this evening.

"Yeah."

`"Okay," Leo says with interest as, he quickly glances around to see if anyone is lurking about.  "If you insist," Leo continues with a voice full of love and promise.  He `promptly forgets about the discomfort from his fall earlier this evening and `slides over a little closer to her and pulls her gently into his arms and brushes a soft kiss against her forehead, then the tip of her nose and finally against her inviting lips.  The soft kiss against her lips begins to increase in intensity, and she responds by flicking her tongue against his lower lip.  He moans softy and opens his mouth and moves his tongue to touch hers and accepts hers as it slides into his mouth and begins to gently explore his mouth.  They have been together so much in the last day or so, but it has mostly been a hungry coupling and this is more ... romantic.  He wants more of this tender exploring and getting to know one another.  `

`He pulls away and smiles and looks into her eyes and brushes his nose against hers like an Eskimo kiss.  "Oh, Margaret you are so beautiful." He then runs his hand through her hair and touches her lips with his thumb and he leans in for another kiss as his hand slowly moves down and under her coat brushing his thumb along her midriff touching the underside of her breast.  `

`Margaret gaps at the light touch. "Oh, Leo." She says as her hands have moved up and around his neck, she is running her fingers through his hair and pulling him closer and she opens her mouth and sucks gently on his lips and pulls his tongue into her mouth, encouraging him to explore her mouth.  They are in a full embrace, fully enjoying their playful and romantic kisses, when a sharp knock on Leo’s window forces them quickly apart. Leo peers out the window and then presses the button to let the window down.`

`"Mr. McGarry, are you having car trouble?" The Secret Service agent asks, as he leans down and looks overtop the car window.`

`"Um... no Coop, we’re just waiting for the windshield to clear," Leo nonchalantly comments with a slight blush on his face. `

`"Oh... I’m sorry, Sir," Coop stammers. "I didn’t see you in there Miss McGuire. I’ll leave you two alone then. Goodnight Mr. McGarry, Miss McGuire," Coop says, with almost the hint of a grin appearing at the corners of his mouth. He straightens back up and starts to walk away from the car.`

`"Goodnight Coop," Leo replies closing the window. Leo turns to face Margaret who is blushing and leans back over to her. "Now, where were we?"`

`"Leo," Margaret squeals and tries to scoot away him. "Do you think he saw us?" She asks with a panicked look on her face.`

`"Maybe, probably," Leo mutters. "But he’s paid to keep secrets, so you shouldn’t worry about it." He’s been holding her hand and running his fingers around hers while they talked to Coop. He moves back over towards her and tries to gather her up into his arms again. "Besides it’s all your fault we were caught in this predicament. I was perfectly willing to get the scraper out of the trunk and clean off the window, but no, you’re the one who wanted to mess around," Leo mocks, as he places a gentle kiss on her neck and nuzzles into her, enjoying the smell of her perfume.`

`"Yeah, well, you were the one who was in the military, so you should have heard him coming!" Margaret smirks trying to push the blame onto Leo as she wiggles out of his arms to give the look that just melts his heart.`

`"I flew planes! I was never on the ground," Leo explains. Well, he was, but he isn’t going to get into that with her right now or maybe never.`

`"Well, you still should have heard him," she snorts, as she still keeps her distance from him. "You’re the man!"`

`"Yes, I am and let me prove it," Leo offers, as he manages to get a hold of her squirming body and pulls her into his arms. Leo kisses her with such fervor that she instantly calms in his arms. He stops his assault and pulls back and breathlessly asks, "Well, what do you think of that?"`

`"Mmmm..." Margaret sighs, touching her soft lips that are swollen with passion and then his tender lips with the tips of her fingers. "I think the windshield’s clear now, so we should probably be going."`

`"Yeah?"`

`"Yeah."`

`"Okay. But, we’re in agreement as to who the man is, right?" Leo affirms, as he gently kisses her on the cheek. `

`"Oh, yeah." She leans forward and `enticingly `breathes into his ear and then licks and nibbles on his earlobe.`

`"Okay, as long as I made my point clear," He agrees, while a shiver runs through his body, from her affectionately gnawing on his ear. He knows in his heart that she has total control over him and he wouldn’t have it any other way. It takes a few seconds to regain his composure, and then he moves back under the steering wheel and turns on the wipers. This time they do their job and Leo puts the car in drive and heads for the gate. As they are leaving the White House grounds, Leo grins to Margaret. "You know, you’re good at getting me into compromising situations here at work."`

`"You mean, like tonight in you office?" Margaret innocently replies as she playfully pats him on the leg. She still can’t believe that she attacked him like that in his office tonight.`

`"Yeah, like tonight," Leo mimics. "Then there’s that other time that you had me in my office with my pants down around my ankles."`

`At first Margaret stares back at him with a blank look on her face, then she realizes what Leo’s talking about and warmly smiles. "Yo`u know tonight was a lot more satisfying than the last time I had your pants off, in your office," Margaret whispers in Leo’s ear, as he drives though the checkpoint and makes the turn onto Seventeenth Street.

Margaret’s mind drifts back to the only other time that she had Leo’s pants down in his office and she wishes that the first time had never occurred, but they say that all things happen for a reason and it did set this whole thing in motion, those many months ago. The first time Leo experienced this dilemma was during early morning hours after Zoey’s kidnapping.

********** Flashback June 2003 **********

When Ron Butterfield informed Leo that Zoey was missing, he took off running to inform his best friend that his youngest daughter was missing. Leo’s run took him from the Situation Room, through the main hall by the Roosevelt Room, through his own office, the Oval Office, out onto the portico and then up to the Residence. Somewhere, during his run down the portico, Leo went sprawling face first on the uncompromising concrete.

Margaret’s aware that something terrible has happened, because she witnessed a portion of Leo’s run. She was standing by Leo’s desk when he came running through his office, followed closely, on his heels, by Ron Butterfield. She had been frozen in her tracks, at the sight of Leo running, so it never dawned on her to follow. If she had pursued them, she would have observed Leo’s fall.

Within a few minutes of Leo’s run, a Secret Service agent made the rounds informing the senior staff offices what had happened. The only details that the agent provided were that Zoey Bartlet is missing and that there’s a dead agent at the scene.

Margaret decides to wait at her desk in case Leo needs anything. She knows that eventually he will come back to his office and she wants to be there for him. She knows that Zoey’s kidnapping is going to hit him hard. Carol was by earlier and informed Margaret that Leo had been in to see CJ before she had briefed the nation, and then he had gone back down to the Situation Room. Carol also mentioned that was Leo was scraped up and that she’d heard that he had fallen on the portico. Margaret is concerned about his state of mind and his physical condition.

It’s almost been two hours since Margaret received word about Zoey and she is still sitting at her desk when Ron Butterfield appears in front of her. She doesn’t realize anyone is in the room until Ron speaks up.

"Margaret."

"Ron," An anxious Margaret jumps up. "Does Leo need me?" She reaches for her notepad and starts to come out from behind her desk

A very solemn Ron shakes his head. "No, Margaret."  He continues, as he holds up a hand to stop her. "I don’t have a lot of time. The President sent me down here."

"Oh, Ron. How are the President and Mrs. Bartlet doing?" Her voice is deeply lined with concern.

Once again, Ron shakes his head, "Not very good at the moment."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Margaret asks.

"Yes," Ron seems uneasy. "When Leo and I were running down the portico earlier tonight, he fell."

"Ron, is he okay? Carol was in here earlier and told me that he looks bad and that she had heard that he umm... fell."

"He’s scraped up. I tried to assess his injuries, after he fell, but he pulled away. Once we got in the elevator, I was able to force him to let me look him over a little. Mostly cuts and scrapes, but he’s moving very gingerly and seems to be in some pain."

"Ron, can’t you get a medic down to the Sit Room and have him examined?" Margaret advises the tall Secret Service agent who is standing very uncomfortably in front of her.

"Margaret, that’s why I’m here. The President asked me to come down and see if you could convince Leo to be examined. No one else has had any luck at getting him to stop moving long enough."

"Okay, I’ll try. He can be very stubborn when he wants to be." Margaret thinks of another time that Ron and she had to deal with a scraped up Leo McGarry.

"Yes, he can," Ron hesitates. Since he is the head agent for the President’s protection, he has access to everyone’s security investigations. He has read Leo’s Air Force service file and he knows the full details surrounding Leo’s war injury. He’s not sure if Margaret knows any of the particulars concerning his injury. So he’s apprehensive about how much information he should give her concerning Leo. Ron decides to play it safe and just stress that Leo took a nasty fall. "Margaret, he... hit the concrete at full speed. I was really amazed that he was able to get back up under his own strength."

"Okay, Ron, if he every comes back to the office, I’ll take care of it." A worried Margaret reassures him.

"Thanks, Margaret. I need to get back." Ron quickly turns around and starts to head out the door.

"Ron, will you tell the President, um... tell him..."

"I know Margaret, I’ll let him know."

"Thanks, Ron."

After a couple of minutes, she gets up quickly and heads towards the White House medic room. She gathers up some first aid supplies and heads back for her desk. She wants to be there in case Leo needs her. Margaret sits back down at her desk and processes the information she received earlier from Ron. But her mind wanders back to another time that she had taken care of a scraped up Leo McGarry.

********** Flashback Spring 1993 **********

It has been a rare day for Margaret. She actually gets off work early, well really it’s more like on time, and has spent to whole evening at her apartment catching up on some chores and returning long overdue phone calls, but mostly just relaxing. She has just changed into her pajamas when there is a knock at the door. Margaret looks at her clock and it’s ten o’clock. She goes to the door and looks out the peephole. She sees a tall, thin, clean-cut man in a dark suit with piercing eyes. He’s holding up a badge. There is a much shorter man standing next to him, but his back is turned to her.

"Who is it?" Margaret cautiously asks

"Agent Ron Butterfield from the Secret Service, Ma’am. I have Leo McGarry with me." Ron looks at Leo and has him turn around.

Margaret opens the door, just as Leo is turning around. "Mr. McGarry, what happened?" She motions for them to come into her apartment. She takes a hold of Leo’s arm and guides him to her couch.

"He was mugged. He wouldn’t let me take him to the hospital or to his home. He requested I bring him here." Ron’s expression didn’t change at all as he filled her in on the details. "He’s got some scrapes and bruises that appear to be superficial. But, he has a cut on his hand that probably could use a couple of stitches, but he was insistent about being brought here." 

"I don’t need any stitches." Leo slurs, as he looks up at Margaret. "I’m fine."

"Mr. McGarry, let me see your hand." Margaret kneels down next to the couch and extends her hand to Leo. Leo gives her his hand and she removes the bloodied handkerchief that is wrapped around it. Margaret examines the wound. "You need to get this checked by a doctor, Mr. McGarry."

"No!" Leo says as he struggles to get up off the couch. "I don’t need to see any damn doctor."

Margaret puts a hand out and forces him to stay seated. "Mr. McGarry, please calm down."

"Ma’am, do you need me to stay?" Ron asks Margaret in a very even and caring voice.

"No thanks. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself, I’m Margaret McGuire his secretary," she says in a strained voice as she stands and walks over to the agent. "I can handle him. Thanks again for bringing him here."

"Okay, Miss McGuire. I'll be going then." Ron heads for the door.

"Margaret," She follows him to the door. "Please call me Margaret."

"Okay, Margaret, are you sure you’ll be okay?" Ron asks her as he reaches the door and turns back to look at Leo.

"I’ll be fine. He... sometimes comes here when... he can’t go home." Margaret says apprehensively as she bits down on her lower lip.

 Ron pulls a card from his wallet and hands it to Margaret. "Call me if you need to, okay?"

"Thanks, you know he’s... not always like... he really is a very brilliant man... you’re just not seeing him at his best right now." Margaret replies as she reaches out and takes his card.

Ron turns towards the couch. "Goodnight, Mr. McGarry."

Leo answers back with something that is inaudible and he slouches further into the couch.

"Margaret, it was nice meeting you, goodnight." Ron opens the door and is gone before Margaret can say anything else.

Margaret heads back to the couch. "Mr. McGarry, why do you do this to yourself?" She sits down next to him on the couch.

"Do what?" Leo mumbles back to her as he sits back up a little bit. He smells of alcohol.

"Do you want me to get you some coffee?" Margaret asks as she gets up off the couch and heads for her kitchen.

"Yeah," he mutters.

"Okay, I’ll be back in a minute." Margaret gets up off the couch and goes into her kitchen. She turns on her coffee maker and then heads for her bathroom. She gathers up some first aid supplies and walks back into her living room. Leo hasn’t moved from his spot. She puts done the supplies and returns to the kitchen. The coffee is ready. She pours two cups and head back to the couch. She hands Leo a cup.

"Here, careful it’s hot." She warns him.

Leo gives her a look and takes the cup. He immediately takes a sip. "Thanks." He continues to drink his coffee.

Margaret sits down on the opposite end of the couch. "Finish that and then I’ll clean up your scrapes. I still think you need to go to the hospital." Margaret is torn between wanting to wring his neck for showing up at her apartment drunk again and wanting to take him in her arms and tell him that it will be ok.

Leo turns to her and grumbles, "I’m fine." Leo drinks the rest of his coffee and is starting to sober up some. He stares at Margaret at the other end of the couch. "I’m sorry, it’s just that I couldn’t..."

"Mr. McGarry, it’s okay. Let’s get you cleaned up." She goes to work on his face. He has cut lip and a small scrape on his chin.

"Ouch!, Margaret, what the hell is in that stuff?" Leo yells, as he recoils back against the couch.

"Shh I need to clean these out."

Next, Margaret moves to his hand. She cleans it and puts a band-aid on it. It’s still bleeding and takes no time at all to soak through the band-aid. She takes it back off and puts on a larger one with some gauze underneath it. "Sir, I really think it needs stitches."

"It’ll be ok."

"Why don’t you stand up and let met get you out of your tux jacket." Margaret stands up in front of him. "Do you hurt anywhere besides the scrapes and bruises that I can see?"

Leo starts to get up off the couch and is having some difficulty. He lets out a pained moan as he rises off the couch and promptly doubles over and grabs his side.

Margaret is right by his side in a second. "Mr. McGarry, are you okay?"

Leo sinks back down into the couch. "I’m fine." He pants out between pained breaths.

"That’s it. I’m taking you to the hospital and I’m calling Mrs. McGarry."  Margaret instructs him.

"No, don’t call Jenny. She doesn’t give a damn anyway and I’m not going to any hospital."

"Sir, you are too going!" Margaret raises her voice to match his. "And I am calling your wife."

"Fine," he huffs.

Margaret places a call to Mrs. McGarry, only to find her not at home. Margaret is pretty sure that Ruth, their maid, was told to lie. So, she just leaves a message with her. Next, she gets Leo out to her car and heads to the hospital.

By the time they arrive at George Washington University Hospital, Leo is more sober and is in a lot more pain, too. He’s finally willing to admit that there might be something wrong. Margaret helps him out of the car. They spend a couple hours waiting. So by the time, Leo sees the doctor. He is completely sober and is really in a bad mood. It turns out he does have a couple of cracked ribs. They wrap his ribs, stitch up his hand and release him. Since Jenny hasn’t shown up at the hospital, Leo tries to get Margaret to take him to the office, but she refuses. Finally after some argument, Leo let’s Margaret drive him to his home.

 

********** End of Spring 1993 Flashback **********

When Leo finally gets back to his office, from the Situation Room, Margaret is shocked by his appearance. He has a scratch on the side of his face, his suit jacket sleeve is torn and the knees of his pants are scuffed and ripped. Leo motions for her to follow him into his office. He sits her down and tells her about Zoey’s kidnapping. For the first time, in a very long time, in Margaret’s career as Leo’s assistant, she doesn’t know what to do. She just sits there and stares back at him. Finally she gets up and tries to get him to let her check his injuries, but he tells her that he is too busy for that now.

"Leo, I went down to the medic’s office earlier and got some first aid supplies. Why don’t you let me clean up your scrapes?" Margaret gets up from the couch and is moving towards the door to her area.

"Margaret, they’re just a couple of scratches, I have more important things to do right now." Leo sits there and stares at her. He’s not going to attempt to get up out of his chair in front of her. He knows that it will be a struggle and he doesn’t want her to know how much pain he is really in.

Margaret stops and turns to face him. "It won’t take but a couple of minutes, Leo." She informs him.

"Margaret, I said no!" Leo’s voice is starting to show his anger. "I have several things I need to be doing for ‘him’ right now."

"Two minutes, Leo, I think you can spare two minutes," Margaret says in an exasperated voice.

"Margaret! I don’t have time for this," Leo demands in a very gruff voice. Leo has momentarily forgotten about the pain in his hip and jumps up out of his chair during his out burst. He heads for his desk, grabs the phone and angrily punches in a number and turns to face Margaret who is still staring draggers at him. "Stop fussing over me!"

"Fine, well at least let me get you something for the pain and swelling," Margaret answers right back, since she’s not, in the least bit, put off by his gruffness. She knows he’s hurting and upset from the news of Zoey’s kidnapping. She marches out to her area and grabs a couple of pills from her purse and heads right back into the lion’s den.

"Here," she instructs, holding out them out in her hand, "take these."

Leo’s just gotten off the phone and is now sitting behind his desk, when Margaret walks back into his office. When she speaks, he looks up from the pictures of the five missing Bahji sleepers that he’s been studying and reaches out his hand. He suddenly realizes that she’s trying to give him pills and he just glares at her as he quickly withdraws his hand.

Margaret finally realizes her mistake. "Oh my God, Leo, I’m so sorry... I wasn’t thinking..." She apologizes profusely as she quickly drops her outstretched hand to her side. She doesn’t have a good grip on the pills and they go flying across his floor. Margaret immediately goes after them, crawling around on Leo’s office floor, tears quickly come to her eyes and she lets out a quick sob. ‘Damnit, how could I have been so insensitive’, she thinks to herself as she gathers up the last pill and starts to get back up off the floor. Leo comes around from behind his desk, and reaches down to help Margaret up.

"Margaret, it’s okay." Leo helps her up off the floor and hangs onto her arm.

"Leo, I’m... so sorry...  I’ll get you some liquid Motrin. I have some in my desk that I keep for you. I don’t know what I was thinking..." She tries to pull out of Leo’s grip, but he doesn’t let go.

"Margaret, don’t worry about it. We’ve all just a little rattled right now," He tells her as he finally relinquishes his hold on her arm and steps back behind his desk. "If you’ll bring me some of the liquid stuff and some water, I’ll take it. Okay."

"Okay, I’ll be right back." Margaret quickly bobs her head, turns and hurries out to his office.

Leo carefully eases himself into his desk chair.

Margaret goes to her desk and gets the Motrin out. She checks the date, because it’s been a while since she has given some to Leo. She then pours out the correct dosage for an adult. The phone rings. It startles her and she spills the medicine. "Damnit!" She says, as she reaches for the phone. "Leo McGarry’s office."

"Margaret, it’s me, Mallory."

"Hi... Mal," she says as she sits down in her chair. She’s not sure whether Leo is in the mood to talk with anyone right now, even his only daughter. "Do you want to talk to your father?"

"No, I’ve already talked to Daddy. I called him on his cell phone when I first heard the news." Mallory pauses. "I have been trying to get though to you for hours, but all the lines into the White House have been tied up. I keep getting that annoying all circuits are busy recording."

"Mal, what can I do for you?" Margaret eyes the mess on her desk and decides it can wait.

"I... was just .... I wanted to see how Daddy was." Mallory pauses. "All I ever get from him is ‘I’m fine’."

"Yeah, he does say that a lot. Doesn’t he?" Margaret quips.

"I know that I can depend on you to tell me the truth," Mallory tells her from the other end of the phone line.

"Mal he’s very upset, of course," Margaret’s voice has a hint of tears in it. "He’s been in the Situation Room, most of the time. He just got back here to the office a couple of minutes ago." Margaret nervously plays with the cord on the phone. She’s not sure if she should tell her about his fall.

Mallory senses that Margaret is upset and has been crying. "Margaret, what aren’t you telling me? Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's fine... but... he fell tonight... When he was running to tell the President about Zoey," Margaret relents.

"Is he okay? How bad is it? Should I come over?" Mallory fires back quickly to Margaret.

"He basically fine, mostly scraped up. No, you probably couldn't get in here anyway," Margaret, informs her.

"Did someone check him out for injuries? You know him, he won’t admit that he’s hurt."

"Mallory, he hasn’t slowed down long enough to hardly even breath, but I will promise you this. I will be make sure that he gets checked out and gets his scrapes taken care of very soon."

"I don’t doubt that, Margaret," Mallory sighs into the phone. She knows that Margaret will take care of her father. "You always have and always will take care him, won’t you?"

"Yes," Margaret pauses, "Yes I will." She hopes that her voice does give her away. If anyone would ever be the one to figure out how she feels about Leo, it would be Mallory.

Mallory hears the underlining tones of love in Margaret’s voice but decides that now is not the time to mention it. She used to tease her about having feelings for her father some time after the divorce, but she stopped when Jordan entered the picture. "I just want you to know that I don't worry about him as much, because I know that you are around to take care of him." Mal continues, "I know that you're the one who got him through the divorce, he told me so." Mallory breathes a heavy sigh. "I know how hurt he was when Mom didn't call and check on him after the shooting. I noticed a change in him after that."

"Mal, your father really loved your mother, never think that he didn't," Margaret points out to Leo’s daughter.

"Yeah, well, I know of some times you were the one who was there for him, when it should have been my Mother."

"Mal..."

Mallory interrupts, "Margaret, I know about the mugging when he was Secretary of Labor," Mallory informs her.

"Mal your Mom was upset, they had..." Margaret tries to explain, she wasn’t even sure if Mallory was even aware of what happened that night.

"Yeah a fight, I know, I may have only been a teenager in high school, but I know what was going on. A fight, still doesn't excuse her from not going to the hospital." Mallory’s voice rises in volume and anger. She pauses for a couple of seconds and regains her composure. "Margaret, I’m sorry. I’m just..."

"Frustrated," Margaret finishes the sentence for her. She knows exactly how Mallory feels. "I know Mal, I am too."

"Margaret, I know that you have taken care of my father for years and I appreciate all you have done for him. He wouldn’t be where he is today, if you haven’t been by his side all these years." 

"Mallory," rolls off of Margaret’s lips.

Mallory breaks in. "It’s true, I know it. You know it and he knows it too. I just need for you to be there again for him now."

"You know I will." Margaret informs her.

"I know," Mallory pauses. "I just had to say it."

"Mal, as a matter of fact, I was just heading into his office to give him some Motrin and then in a bit I’m going to personally see that his scrapes get cleaned up."

"I’m sure he’ll love that," Mallory smirks. Her father loves to take medicine almost as much as he loves to take a vacation. "I should let you go then."

"Mal, don’t worry about your Dad, I’ll take care of him. I’ll call you in the morning and let you know how he’s doing."

"Okay, thanks Margaret. Love ya."

Margaret smiles at the way Mallory says ya, she sounds just like her Dad when she says it. "Love you too, Sweetie. Bye."

"Bye."

Margaret hangs up the phone and repours some medicine for Leo. She’s cleaning up her mess and still chastising herself for trying to give Leo pills, when Toby enters her area.

"Is he in?"  Toby asks, with his patented Toby frown as he tilts his head to one side.

"Yeah, he’s in," Margaret answers. "But let me take this to him first and then you can see him."

Toby eyed the children’s medicine in her hand with a puzzled look on his face. "That’s for Leo?"

"Yeah, he fell earlier tonight," Margaret, confides to Toby.

"When?"

"He fell on the portico when he was running to tell ..." Margaret stops. There’s no reason to tell Toby why he was running.

"Is he okay?"

"He won’t stop long enough for me to check," Margaret answers in an exasperated voice, "And just a second ago, I tried to give him pills. Toby, what the hell’s wrong with me?"

At first, Toby stares blankly at Margaret, then it dawns on him as to why offering pills to Leo was such a bad idea. "Margaret, I’m sure Leo understood."

"He said he did, but God Toby, how could I make such a stupid mistake? I’ve like only worked for the man for over twelve years!" She declares, as the tears build up in her eyes. "I was there when he was abusing pills, I was there when he got out of rehab, and I have the recovery guidelines memorized, what the hell was I thinking...?" Margaret can’t continue, she lowers her head and blinks as the tears start to fall freely down her face.

"Margaret," Leo bellows from inside his office.

Margaret’s head jerks back up. "Sorry, Toby," as she quickly grabs a tissue and tries to wipe away the evidence from her face and takes a couple seconds to regain her composure. "Let me give him this and then you can see him," She tells Toby before she scurries into Leo’s office.

"Here, Leo," she softly instructs, as she walks back into his office. She places the medicine and water bottle on his desk and quickly turns to beat a hasty retreat.

"Margaret," Leo says quietly, "Don’t worry about it." He feels bad that he yelled at her earlier, when she was just trying to be helpful.

Margaret bobs her head and starts to leave his office but then quickly turns back around again. "Oh, I almost forgot. Toby’s here, can you see him?"

"Yeah, send him in," Leo relents as he slowly moves from behind his desk and towards his wing back chair. "Margaret, you can go home now," Leo advises, as he gingerly sits down.

Margaret’s been standing in the doorway watching Leo make his trek from his desk to his chair. She can tell by the way he’s shuffling that he’s in some pain. When Leo tells her to go home, she gives him a very piercing look and reiterates her famous motto. "I go home when you go home." Before Leo can reply, she disappears through the door.

"Toby, he can see you now," she sits back down at her desk and tries to keep her mind on her work.

Margaret finally corners Leo after Toby left his office around three-thirty in the morning.

She enters his office with some first aid materials that she has gotten from the White House medic. "Leo, you’ve got time now, let me clean up your scratches."

"Margaret, I’m fine," Leo informs her in an annoyed tone. He still doesn’t want to take the time and have her look at him. And he knows that it’s going to sting. He still remembers the last time she cleaned up his scrapes.

"Leo McGarry, germs aren’t aware that you’re the White House Chief of Staff with no time to spare, so they’re not going to think twice about giving you a nasty infection." Margaret walks over and places the first aid supplies on the coffee table next to the chair where Leo is sitting.

"I’m not getting out of this, am I?" Leo raises his weary eyes at her.

"You bet your ass you’re not," Margaret responds.

"Yeah." Leo leans his head back on the chair and turns his face to one side to give Margaret better access to it. "Go ahead, knock yourself out." He’s just too tired to fight with her about this anymore.

Margaret opens up the disinfectant and puts some on a cotton ball and starts to clean the long scrape on his face.

"Ouch, Margaret. That stings!" He recoils in his chair a little. "Where the hell did you get that stuff?"

"Sorry." Margaret bites down on her lower lip and continues to clean out Leo’s wound. "I got it from the medic."

After she’s satisfied that the abrasion on his face is clean, she moves her attention to the palms of his hands. Both of them have some skin missing and one has some small pieces of grit in it. "Leo, you’ve got grains of concrete in your hand. You should have gone to the medic and let him remove them."

"I thought I’d gotten them all out," Leo looks down at his palms with disinterest. "Can’t you just use some teasers and get them out?"

"Leo, I’m not a trained..." Margaret stops when she sees the pleading look in Leo’s eyes. "Okay, but this might hurt."

Margaret successfully removes all the debris from Leo’s palm and then she proceeds to his knees. She carefully pushes up both trouser legs over his knees and then cleans the scrapes on them. He has lost most of the skin on both knees, so the disinfectant is really stinging and Leo is squirming in his chair. That’s when Margaret notices a tear in his pants on his thigh. This tear is actually showing a fair amount of blood around it. "Leo, did you cut your thigh too?"

Leo glances down at his pants and notices the tear at his right pants pocket. He’d been having pain there but has been ignoring it. "Looks like it." He answers indifferently. "My keys must have dug into me when I fell. You’re not going to be able to pull my pants leg up that far," Leo chuckles, thinking that he’s gotten out of having that one cleaned out.

Margaret stares at Leo. How’s she going to get to that one and clean it out? She can’t trust Leo to take care of it himself. There’s only one way that she can think of and Leo’s not going to like it. Margaret’s face turns red just at the thought of her idea. She’s dreamed many times about getting Leo out of his pants, but not in this manner. "Leo... um are you wearing boxers today?" Margaret asks, as a blush creeps over her face. She knows that he is, because that’s all she’s ever seen in his dresser at his hotel.

"Margaret, how do you know what I wear?" Leo asks, as he straightens up in his chair at the sudden realization of what she’s about to propose.

 

"Duh, I’ve packed your clothes for most of your trips these past three years and I’ve brought several changes of clothes from your hotel to work, too. Do you think your underwear just magically appears in your luggage and here at work?"

"Yeah," He smirks. "I guess I never really thought about it. And yes, I’m wearing boxers."

Margaret stands up and takes a step back from Leo’s chair and glares down at him. "Well, Leo, I know I can’t trust you to have that looked at." She points to his thigh.

"Margaret!" Leo says, with an alarmed look on his face. He knows he’s about to lose his pants.

"Leo, we’re both adults here, so stand up and drop'em," She says, trying to keep any sound desire from creeping into her voice.

"Margaret, I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll..." Leo stares at Margaret who’s standing in front of him shaking her head ‘no’ with a very obstinate look on her face. Leo realizes that he’s lost this battle. This woman standing in front of him can be so stubborn, especially when it comes to his well-being. "Well, all right. But could you at least close and lock the doors? All I need, right now, is for one of President Walken’s people to come bounding in here and find me with my pants down around my ankles, in front of my beautiful assistant," Leo smirks.

Margaret blushes at Leo’s statement and gives him a small smile of thanks, as she walks over to the three doors in his office, closes and locks them. She walks back over and stands in front of Leo, who is still sitting in his chair, and crosses her arms and gawks at him. "Leo."

"Okay." Leo stands up and his face grimaces in pain. The stiffness and soreness is starting to set into his body from the fall. He slides his suspenders down off his shoulders, undoes his buckle, fastener and then his zipper. He lets his pants fall to the floor as he quickly pulls his shirttail down to cover himself in the front.

Margaret can’t help but smile at Leo’s modesty. She steps over to him and moves his shirttail out of the way to get a better view of his injury. "Oh Leo, that’s gotta hurt?" she gasps, as she lays a comforting hand on his thigh.

Leo’s leg involuntarily flinches when Margaret lays her hand on his thigh. "Yeah, it does a little," he admits, as he tries very hard not to think about her hand resting on his thigh.

Margaret’s still inspecting the damage, which is more like a puncture wound, and finds the surrounding area already turning black and blue. His keys really did a number on his thigh. She pushes his boxers up a little higher on his thigh to see if they are any more damage at the top of his thigh. She doesn’t see any more, but she notices what appears to be a surgical scar that starts at the top of his hip and runs several inches down the side of his thigh. Margaret tries unsuccessfully not to stare.

"Leo, it’s kind of deep," she gasps, "I think you might require more first aid than I can provide."

"It’s okay Margaret, just go ahead and clean it out and then you can just slap a band aid on it." Leo looks down to where Margaret is looking. ‘Damnit’, he curses to himself, he’d forgotten about the scar on his hip.  Leo knows what she’s thinking and he reaches down and lifts her chin up towards him. He’s never before touched her face this intimately. Her skin is so soft under his fingertips. "Margaret, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it."

Margaret slowly nods her head okay. She knows that he’s not talking about where his keys dug into him, he’s referring to his injuries that he received in the war. "Okay, but it’s probably going to really sting." 

‘Not as much as that stuff that Kenny sprinkled on my leg did,’ Leo thinks to himself. "It’ll be fine," Leo gazes into her eyes.

Margaret gets up and gets the disinfectant. Leo flinches a little bit as she cleans out the wound. Next, she applies some antibiotic cream on it and then covers it up with a large square band-aid. She backs away and studies her work. "I think that will do. Now, lets get you a change of pants. Take your shoes off and step out of those ripped pants."  She starts to walk to Leo’s closet.

Leo starts to bend down to take his shoes off but stops suddenly as pain crosses his face and a grunt escapes his lips.

"Leo, are you okay?" She rushes to his side.

"I’m..." But, before he could utter another word, Margaret stops him.

"Don’t you dare say, you’re fine!"  She advises in a very concerned voice.

"Margaret, look, I’m old and I fell flat on my face, things are gonna hurt for a while, okay?"

"Do you think you broke your ribs again?"

"No, they’re fine, I’m just sore and it hurts to bend over." He knows he didn’t break his ribs, because they’re not hurting him. His hip is what’s causing him the most pain, but he doesn’t want to tell her that.

"Yeah," Margaret snorts.  "Well, I remember the last time you told me that. So why should I believe you now?"

It takes Leo a second to figure out what she’s talking about. "Yeah, well the last time my ribs was only cracked, but they were also hurting. My ribs are not hurting this time." Leo informs her.

"Okay, but what almost caused you to double over in pain this time, if it’s not your ribs?" Margaret isn’t going to let it drop. She promised Mallory she would take care of him and she is not about to let her down.

"Margaret!" Leo growls. "There’s nothing that can be done and lets just leave it at that."

Margaret stands her ground. "Listen, I talked to Mallory tonight and she asked me to make sure you where okay," Margaret informs him. "So, for the sake of your daughter, tell me what hurts."

Leo’s face turns somber at the mention of his daughter’s name. "What did you tell her?" He softly asks.

"She asked how you were." Margaret replies. "I won’t lie to her. I told her you fell and that you were basically okay. I also told her I would take care of you. Now, let me keep my promise."

"Okay," Leo knows he can’t fight her and his daughter. "My hip is sore. Its NOT broken, its just... please there’s... nothing to worry about. It will be fine in a couple of days. Okay?" Leo pleads with her.

Margaret stares back at Leo. His face implores her to let it drop. She decides to let him have his way for right now. But she will keep a close eye on him. If he doesn’t show improvement in a day or two, she will get Ron to get some agents and frog march Leo out of the White House and off to the hospital. "Okay," she concedes. "You still need to change your pants. Let me untie your shoes for you." Margaret kneels down and unlaces his wingtips. As she is untying his shoes, she notices as rather large ragged scar on his right shin. His lower leg appears to be a little crooked too. She glances at his other leg and it appears to be straight. She hesitates as she looks at his right leg again and wonders how it got bowed below his knee and how he got such a rough looking scar. "Okay, you can step out of them now," she says, as she holds onto to his shoes.

Leo obediently steps out of shoes and pants.  He watches her with interest as she picks up his pants and walks over to his closet and pulls out the garment bag that contains his extra suit. She places the bag on his table and unzips it. She pulls the pants off the hanger and switches the suspenders from one pair of pants to the other. Then she walks over to Leo. She bends down and he places a hand on her shoulder for balance while she holds his pants for him and he steps into them. While they are still around his ankles, she has him step back into his shoes and she laces them up.

"Is that okay or are they too tight," she asks him.

"They’re fine. Thanks." He returns.

"Leo, do you need me to pull your pants up for you?" She refuses to look him in the eye while she asks him.

"Yeah." He softly answers.

Margaret carefully pulls up his pants over his scraped knees and up to his waist. She’s very careful not to let her fingertips touch his bare skin. She is rather tense while she is pulling up his pants. She’s so close to his body and it is really having an effect on her.

Leo takes a hold of the pants from her and their fingers brush against one another. This intimate touch sends shivers though Margaret’s body. She walks away and turns her back to give him some privacy while he finishes with his pants. Margaret can’t stop thinking about Leo’s scars that she just saw again while helping him on with his pants. She believes that these scars had to come from the war. She also knows that the pain from them runs deep into his soul.

"Thanks Margaret," He quickly fastens and zips up his pants. "You’ve got a great bedside manner," Leo smirks, as he pulls his suspenders back up over his shoulders.

Margaret turns back around and faces him. There are unshed tears in her eyes. "Leo?"

"Please don’t," Leo softly says, as he rises up a hand towards her. "It doesn’t matter."

Margaret bobs her head and quickly heads for the door that leads to her area.

Leo reaches out and softly grabs her by the arm to stop her from leaving and turns her towards him. "Margaret, really... it’s nothing to bother yourself with," He pleads with her.

"But, I do... I worry about you," Margaret shyly admits. If he only knew how much she cared about him. But that was just a pipe dream of hers that was never going to happen.

"I know, but you shouldn’t." Leo wonders what he ever did to deserve such a loving, caring, and devoted assistant like Margaret.

"Leo?" Margaret timidly asks.

"Yeah," Leo dryly answers. He can read Margaret like a book when she gets like this, so he knows what’s coming next.

"Leo, are those scars from the war?" She softly asks.

"Yeah," he scarcely breathes out.

"Is that... why you... umm... limp sometimes?" Margaret sympathetically asks, as she slowly glances at his right leg. She knows that she’s probably stepped over the line, but she has so many questions that she wants to ask him about it.

Leo slowly nods his head. "Yeah," He softly relents, as he loosens his grip on her arm and slowly lets his hand slide down the length of her arm until he reaches her hand and gently squeezes it.

Margaret returns Leo’s squeeze. "Okay." She says, as she tries once again to leave his office.

"Margaret." Leo sighs.

She turns back around at the sound of his voice and gazes intently into his eyes.

"You’re a good girl," Leo’s voice is husky with emotion.

She bobs her head and leaves.

********** End of June 2003 Flashback **********


	12. Christmas Without You 12

**Christmas Without You**

**by:[ AdoreLeo](mailto:rockfordfilesfan@aol.com)**

**Characters:** Leo, Margaret  
**Pairing:** Leo/Margaret  
**Category:** Romance   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.  
**Summary:** Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.  
**Spoiler:** Anything up to and including _Abu El Banat_  
**Feedback:** I would love to hear your opinion!  
**Author's Note:** Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!  
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!! 

* * *

Leo can’t help but smile at the memory that Margaret was referring to. That recollection also reminded him that sometime soon, he would probably have to tell Margaret about his injuries he received during the war.

They’re about half way to her apartment when Margaret notices that Leo keeps shifting in his seat and is trying very hard not to grimace. "Leo, are you okay?"

"I’m..." he almost says fine, but it’s time to admit to her that he’s experiencing a lot of pain from his old injuries and from the fall tonight, "my hip and leg are bothering me a little."

Margaret’s shocked that Leo’s acknowledging that he’s in pain. She knows that if he’s willing to tell her, that it must be bad. "Leo, is there anything you can take or do for it that will relieve some of your pain?"

"Well, I really don’t like to take much," Leo knows he doesn’t need to explain the reason. "So I usually soak in the hot tub at the hotel."

"Leo, do you want to spend the night at your hotel?" Margaret isn’t enjoying the thought of going to his hotel, but she’ll do it, if it will help ease his pain.

"Margaret, you were so uncomfortable there this afternoon." Leo quickly turns his eyes from the road and gives her a quick look.

"Do you want to spend the night in your hotel alone?" Margaret asks, in a very worried tone.

"No, Margaret, that’s not what I meant." Leo answers back, as he smiles at her paranoid tone. "The only way that I’m staying at the hotel is if you’re there with me." He reaches out and squeezes her hand that is resting on the seat between them.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I’ll stay at the hotel with you."

"Good."

"Can we stop by my apartment? I’d like to grab a few things that I might need.  We’re really not very far from it," Margaret says hopefully.

"You’ve already got everything I need." Leo smirks as he squeezes her hand again.

"Leo, you’re incorrigible," she returns his squeeze of her hand.

"Yeah, we can still run by your apartment."

"Great. I think I’ll pack enough for a couple of days, so that you can spoil me with room service." Margaret decides that if he is hurting enough to mention it, then he’ll probably need more than just one trip to the hot tub to relieve it.

"I can do that," Leo declares, as he brings her hand up to gently kiss. "I plan on making it my life’s goal."

"Great, I can start practicing being the fiancée of a millionaire," She smirks.

"You’re not going to let that go, are you?"

"Nope, at least not any time soon. I’m sure that one of these days you’re learn your lesson that you shouldn’t hide things from me," she smirks. "Honey, at this next light you need to turn left." She instructs him.

"Okay."

"Okay to the turn or okay to the hiding?"

"Yeah." He smirks.

"Well, which one is it?"

"Both." He softly whispers, as he kisses her hand one more time and then slowly lets go of it as he takes the car wheel with both hands again. "Now stop pestering me, I need to keep my eyes on the road."

"Okay."

The rest of the ride to Margaret’s apartment is a rather quiet one except for an occasional direction from Margaret. Leo’s acutely concentrating on his driving, since the roads are slick with snow and it’s an unfamiliar area to him. So he’s not aware of the scheming that’s going on behind the tense look that’s on Margaret’s face. She breathes a sigh of relief, when they reach her apartment building and she sees that there’s a vacant parking spot, on the street, right in front of the building. As soon as Leo starts to park his car, Margaret informs him of her plan. "Leo, I want you to stay in the car, while I run in and pack a few things."

"What?"

"I won’t be long." She’s about ready to get out of the car, but Leo’s hand on her arm stops her.

"Baby, you’re not going by yourself," he informs her.

"Honey," Margaret says softly, "you’re parked right out front. It’ll be fine. I’ll just run in and be right back."

"I’m coming too." Leo starts to reach for his door handle.

"Leo," she decides it time to be firm with him. "It’s slick out and you don’t need to take a chance of falling. Plus walking up and down the stairs isn’t going to do you any good either."

Leo stops reaching for the door and whips his head back at Margaret. "I’m not ‘that’ old yet, that you have to be worrying about me falling and breaking my hip," he tells her in a coarse voice.

"Oh, Leo, it has nothing to do with your age." Margaret reaches for his hand and continues on in a softer voice.  "Honey, I’m sorry that you took it that way. I just think there’s no reason for you to be dragging yourself in and out and aggravating your hip and leg more, especially since you’re parked right out in front of the building. I’ll be gone but a couple of minutes, anyway." Margaret tells him, as she pleads with her eyes for his forgiveness.

"You’re probably right." He concedes. "I’m sorry I raised my voice, it’s just... that, well I don’t like to think that I can’t do things because of my..."

"Honey, it’s okay. We haven’t had enough time yet together as a couple to figure out the things that bother us," Margaret says, as she continues to hold his hand and rub his knuckles with her thumb.

"Oh, Margaret, I’m so sorry, I know you would never say anything to hurt me. It’s just that... I’m really touchy when it comes to the limitations that are sometimes inflicted upon me. I know that you aren’t of aware of the things that have happened in the past that make me this way. Someday, when the time is right, I’ll tell you what I’m talking about, okay?"

"Leo, it’s okay, you’ll tell me when you’re ready."

Leo has already told her tonight that his hip and leg are bothering him, but he decides to be totally honest with her. "I’m even more irritable about it tonight, because I’m experiencing a lot of pain from them."

Margaret interrupts Leo. "Leo, do we need to go to the emergency room, maybe you did really hurt it tonight when you fell in the office?"

"No, I’m fine, well sort of. Listen, I really don’t want to go in to many details tonight, but this happens sometimes, and it’s just worse because of the fall and probably because of some of our actives over the past few hours," Leo shyly admits.

"Okay. Sometime soon we need to discuss your um... injury, but we can do that later."

"Thanks, Margaret." Leo’s relieved that Margaret is willing to let the subject drop.

"But, I do think that perhaps I may need to take a more active role in our romantic escapades, we can’t have you not being able to walk at work." Margaret tells him in her sexiest voice.

"Oh, God, Margaret, any more active and you’ll kill me," Leo beams.

"No, silly, not that way. I think that we may need to explore different... um... positions."

"Yeah?"  He says as he looks at her. Margaret has his full attention now.

"Oh, yeah," she whispers in her ear. "Maybe if you’re a good boy and you are feeling ‘up’ to it, I can introduce some of them to you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Leo whines.

"Yeah, tomorrow. I’m not going to be the cause of any more pain for you today."

"Oh, but Baby, some pain is worth it."

Margaret reaches out and playfully slaps his arm. "Leo, you are hopeless. Do you ever stop?"

"Not when I’m this close to such a beautiful and sexy lady," Leo reaches over with his hand and plays with her hair, eventually running his hand behind her head and pulling her to him for a gentle but intense kiss.

Margaret leans back from his kiss. "Leo, if you keep this up, we’re never going to get you to the hotel and into the hot tub for some relief."

"Okay, I’ll stop. I don’t think I could follow though with it, anyway," Leo shyly confesses.

"Because your hip and leg are sore?" Margaret asks, with some concern.

Leo shakes his head. "No, not exactly."

"Honey?"

"Something else... is a little sore," Leo timidly answers as he lowers his head and glances at the area of his body that’s sore.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Margaret lets slip out of her mouth.

"What?" Leo jerks his head back up to look her in the eye.

"That’s not what I meant... I mean... it’s just that I’m sore too and I just didn’t want to say anything." Now it’s Margaret’s turn to be shy.

"Oh Baby, you need to tell me these things. Listen, I hope you realize that last night and today was not the norm. I mean... I think it was just from years of pent up feelings that I kept under lock and key. I don’t want you to think I’m a sex..."

Margaret stops him. "Oh Honey, I don’t think that at all and don’t get me wrong, I was a very willing participant in all of our activities, as a matter of fact, I encouraged, in fact I initiated some of them. I know this is not how it’s going to be all the time. It’s new and we have hidden our feelings for many years, so... don’t worry about it."

"Hey, that’s my line." Leo chides her, as her reaches over and gently touches her face. "Margaret, what did I ever do to deserve you?"

"Funny," Margaret giggles. "I was just thinking the same thing. I love you so much Leo."

"I love you too, Baby." Leo leans over and kisses her.

"I’d better go and get my stuff. I’ll be right back." Margaret returns his kiss.

"Okay, take your time. I think I’ll call the President and Abbey and let them know of our change in plans. They might panic if they can’t get a hold of us at your apartment tonight."

"Yeah, I’m afraid that you’re in for some close scrutiny from them, for a while."

"I’m sure they won’t be the only ones watching my every move." Leo smirks.

"Well now, who might you be referring to Mr. McGarry?"  His name, ever so slowly, rolls off her lips.

"Margaret," Leo whines. "Please stop that, you know what that does to me when you call me that."

"But it’s your name, Mr. McGarry."

"Margaret." Leo growls.

"Yeah?"

"Love ya." Leo sighs.

"Love you too, I’ll be back in a flash." Margaret gets out of the car and heads for her apartment.

Leo watches Margaret enter the building and then takes his cell phone out of his coat pocket, turns it on and dials that, all too familiar, number.

"Hello." Answers his best friend.

"Hello, Mr. President," Leo replies and before he can utter another word, Jed starts yelling at him.

"Leo, where the hell of you been? Abbey’s been calling Margaret’s apartment for almost an hour. Why don’t you have your cell phone turned on? Where are you? I was getting ready to send the Secret Service out looking for you." Jed’s in rare form as he angrily fires off his questions.

"Sir, calm down. We’re fine. I forgot I’d turned off my cell phone," Leo tries to soothe his friend, because he realizes that he’s more worried than angry.

"How convenient for you," Jed retorts, since he’s still upset with Leo.

"Sir, you know, I’m entitled to a life outside the White House."

"No, you’re not," Jed starts to calm down. "You got me into this mess and you have to suffer the consequences, too." Jed teases his friend. He’s so relieved to hear Leo’s voice.

"Sir, I don’t think you should refer to the Presidency as a mess," Leo teases right back.

"Well, whatever. Hey where have you been? I called the guard desk and you guys didn’t leave the White House until a half an hour ago. Where were you?"

"For the last fifteen minutes or so, Sir, we’ve been outside Margaret’s apartment, talking." He realizes that Jed’s not going to let up on him.

"Talking, is that what they call it these days. Why didn’t you just go inside?" Jed quizzes his friend. "Hey, what kept you from leaving the White House after you left the Residence?" Jed smirks.

"Sir, we needed to stop by and pick up our coats."

"And that took you um... thirty minutes to do that."

"Well... um we sort of got sidetracked, Sir."

"Sidetracked how?"

"Sir, is there a reason why you were calling?" Leo does his best to change the subject.

"Leo, you called me," Jed whined.

"I know that, Sir, I meant before."

"Oh, yeah, Abbey went ahead and called her friend tonight, and you two have an appointment to view that condo tomorrow. Abbey said she’d come by and pick Margaret and you up at her apartment."

Leo smiles at the mention that Abbey wants to go, too. "That’s fine, Sir. What time should we expect her?"

"Here, you can talk with her." Jed turns and hands the phone to Abbey who has been by his side the second she realized that it was Leo on the phone.

"Leo, I hope you don’t mind me inviting myself along," Abbey tells her friend.

"No Abbey, I can use your help with Margaret. I’m sure she’ll need some convincing, even if she likes the condo. She’ll still think it’s too much money."

"I’ll be by at one to pick you and Margaret up. I believe the Secret Service already knows Margaret’s address," She smirks, she can’t resist getting in her own jab at Leo.

"Yeah, they do, go figure. But hey, that’s why I was calling in the first place. We won’t be there, because we’re going to stay at my hotel for the next few days."

"Okay, Leo. What made you guys change your minds?" Abbey queries.

"Changed their minds about what?" Jed, who’s standing right next to Abbey, wants to know.

"Shhh, Jethro, I’m trying to talk to Leo," Abbey instructs to her husband.

"Abbey?" Jed complains.

"They’re going to Leo’s hotel to stay, now shut up and let me find out why," Abbey tells Jed.

"Leo?" Abbey says into the phone.

"I’m having some...trouble and I need to spend some time in the hot tub," Leo finally admits and waits for her questions.

"Leo, what’s wrong?" Dr. Abigail Bartlet is about ready to blast off in full-blown doctor mode.

"My... hip and... leg are... bothering me and you know there’s not much I can do about it, other than soak in the hot tub."

"Leo, do you need to have it checked out? I know how you hate going to the doctors, but I could come over tonight and look at it, it’s not like I haven’t examined your hip before. I know there’s knowing I can do for your leg, but you could have..."

"No, Abbey," Leo interprets her. "They’ll be fine. I’m going to take some of my prescription pain reliever when I get home and then have a long soak in the hot tub."

"It must have flared up awfully fast, Leo. I didn’t notice it bothering you earlier, or have you gotten better at hiding that too!" Abbey’s also aware that it must be pretty bad for Leo to actually be taking his prescription.

"No, it started hurting after we left the Residence," Leo divulges to her.

"What happened after you left, Leo?"

"Nothing."

"Well, nothing sure did have an impact on your hip and your leg." Abbey smirks.

"I fell, okay, are you happy now?"

"Leo, are you okay?" Abbey asks, with a very concerned voice.

"Abbey, tell me what is going on?" Jed demands.

Abbey glares at her husband and slowly utters just one little word. "Present."

"Oh, yeah, right umm... sorry," Jed, whines.

"I’m sorry Leo, but Jed’s being a pain. Are you okay?" Abbey asks again.

"Yeah, I think I just bruised it."

"Leo you could have a hairline fracture or you could have caused trauma to your old injury.  Leo, it must really be hurting you if you told Margaret about it, maybe I should come over."

"Abbey, it’s not broken. I fell and landed on one of Margaret’s shoes." ‘Oh no’ Leo thinks to himself. He didn’t mean to tell her how he bruised it.

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Leo responds, hoping that she will leave it alone.

"So, you fell after you left the Residence and before you left for Margaret’s apartment?" Abbey inquirers.

"Yeah."

"So, that’s means you fell somewhere in the White House?" Abbey asks with a wicked grin on her face that only her husband can enjoy.

"Yeah."

"Possibly in your office, maybe?"  Abbey is really having fun at Leo’s expense.

"Maybe," Leo mumbles.

"And when you fell, you landed on Margaret’s shoe?"

"Yeah."

"Was her foot in it when you landed on it?"

"No." Leo wishes she would stop playing twenty questions.

"So, let me get this straight, you fell in your office and landed on Margaret’s empty shoe?" She reiterates.

"Yeah." Leo says in an annoyed voice, wishing she would just get to her point and get this torture over with.

"You know, Leo, it’s hard to walk with your pants down around your ankles, isn’t it?" Abbey smirks into the phone.

"Abbey!" Leo whines. ‘So much for her leaving it alone’, Leo thinks to himself.

"Hold on a minute, I think Jed’s going to have a heart attack if he doesn’t talk to you. Oh and Leo, maybe you two should take it easy the rest of the night and I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon at around one o’clock. Actually, I’m coming by earlier, because like it or not, I’m going to examine you!" Abbey hands the phone to her husband before Leo gets a chance to protest.

"Leo, what’s this I hear about having your pants down around your ankles?" Jed smirks into the phone.

"Oh, God, just kill me now." Leo mutters to no one in particular as he rolls his eyes. His friends aren’t going to let him forget this anytime soon. "Sir." Leo pleads into the phone.

"What’s that about God, Leo? I would think that you should be thanking him right about now!" Jed laughs into the phone.

"Sir, please." Leo knows that he’s not going to get a break.

"Leo, did you just inform my wife that you had your pants down around your ankles in your office?"

"I did no such thing, Sir."

"You mean you didn’t have your pants down in your office or you didn’t tell her you did?" Jed has a huge smile on his face that his friend doesn’t get the benefit of seeing.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, to what, Leo?"

"Yeah to, oh thank God, Sir, I’ve got to go, Margaret just came back out of her apartment building. I’ll be talking to you, Sir. Goodnight, Sir." Leo presses the end button on his cell phone before Jed can say another word. ‘Oh great’ Leo thinks to himself.

Leo presses the button that pops the trunk open when he sees Margaret leaving the building. He starts to get out and help her, as she approaches the car, but she waves him off. He settles into his seat and waits for her to get back into the car.

"Did you talk to the President?" Margaret asks, as she’s putting on her seatbelt. "I had a couple of messages from the First Lady on my machine. The last one she left, she sounded sort of panicked."

"Yeah. I talked to both of them"

"And?"

"We have an appointment to go look at the condo tomorrow and Abbey has invited herself along, so she’ll be by to pick us up at one. Well, actually she’s coming by earlier."

"Why earlier?

"Because, someone’s getting an examination courtesy of one Dr. Abigail Bartlet." Leo scoffs.

"Sounds like someone had a fun phone call," Margaret smirks as she reaches over and lays a hand on Leo’s leg.

"You don't even want to know," Leo replies.

"Okay."

Leo pulls the car away from the curb and heads for his hotel. At least this time, he’s a little surer of where he’s going. Leo’s still a bit upset about slipping and letting Abbey know what happened in his office and he knows he’s in for a thorough examination tomorrow. Leo’s been trying hard to keep the memory, of what just happened earlier in his office, from clouding his mind, but he can’t. It creeps into his mind and he smiles.

"What?" Margaret wonders as she watches Leo maneuver the car.

"Huh?"

"What are you smiling at?"

"Um... just thinking about earlier... in my office." Leo face turns a little red at the images in his head.

"Oh," Margaret coyly replies.

"Yeah."

"That was nice." Margaret comments as she reaches out and lovingly touches his arm.

"Yeah." Is all that Leo can manage to say. He wants to confess to her that it was his first time to give or receive that type of pleasure, but he’s apprehensive to tell her. How does he tell Margaret that during thirty some odd years of marriage that Jenny and he had basically made love the same way every time? It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing, but Jenny was never very receptive. He knows now, that they only ever had just sex, whereas Margaret and he make love and there is a big difference, more than he ever knew.  It’s obvious that Margaret has had more experience than him and he’s a little afraid that he may not be able to keep her satisfied. The smile leaves his face and is replaced with small grimace.

"Honey, what’s wrong?" Is it your pain getting worse?" Margaret asks. "Do you want to pull over and let me drive?" Margaret hopes that her offer to drive doesn’t upset him.

"It’s... Nothing," Leo automatically replies. "The pain hasn’t increased. I can still drive."

"Okay." Margaret decides to drop the subject.

"It’s just um... something that I need to talk to you about after we get home." Leo tells her. The word home just slipped right out of his mouth like he’s been calling his hotel their home for years. It seems so natural to him to call any place that they share, home. A smile returns to Leo’s face. Maybe it won’t be so bad to tell her after all, because she makes him feel so comfortable.

"Yeah, home," Margaret sighs back to him. It feels so good to have him call his hotel their home. It seems so natural, like they have been referring to it, like that for years.

Leo pulls his car into the hotel parking garage and parks his car in its normal space. He slowly gets out of the car. By the time he’s out, Margaret already has her bag and his bag, that he had packed for her apartment, out of the trunk and is rolling them towards the elevator. She presses the button and then turns to watch Leo limp across the pavement. It kills her to see him in so much pain. She unsuccessfully tries to keep a worried look off her face.

"Margaret, stop worrying." Leo tells her as he heads towards her and the elevator. "It’s just stiff from me sitting in the car for so long."

Margaret’s worried look quickly turns to a guilty one.

"And no, you didn’t take too long at your apartment. I was referring to the total trip in the car being so long," Leo can read her like a book.

"You think you know me so well, don’t you?" Margaret’s trying to keep the moment light hearted.

"I do."

"Well, I wasn’t worrying about you, Mr. McGarry. I was worrying about how I was going to make it upstairs without being seen," She smirks.

"You know, you’re such a terrible liar," Leo says, as he finally reaches her side.

"No worse than you."

"Maybe." Leo reaches for her hand.

"Well, you’re stuck with me, so get over it." Margaret informs him.

"Okay." Leo leans up and gives her a quick kiss.

"Leo."

"What?"

"There’s probably camera in this garage," Margaret warns him as she takes a step away from him. She has lost her earlier boldness after getting caught making out in Leo’s car by Agent Cooper.

"That didn’t stop you from attacking me in the elevator in the Residence," Leo replies offhandedly without really thinking.

"What do you mean by that?" Margaret demands as she puts her hands on her hips and starts to tap her foot.

"Ah... nothing," Leo shakes his head a little at all the things his big mouth has let slip out tonight. If he keeps this up, he will soon have no more secrets.

"Leo McGarry, don’t you give me that, what did you mean?" She’s not letting him off the hook.

"Um... there’s sort of a... hidden camera in the elevator," Leo knows he can’t win, so he surrenders.

"Are you kidding me?" She squeaks.

"No," Leo says, with an impish grin plastered across his face. It’s too late to deny it now, so he might as well have some fun with her.

"Leo," she reaches out and none too playfully slaps his arm, "you could have told me!" Margaret’s face has turned totally red.

"I couldn’t talk with your tongue down my throat, besides, I was really enjoying what your hands were doing to me," Leo beams.

"Oh, my, God," Margaret says, as the images what she did to Leo in the elevator flashes before her eyes. "I’ll never be able to look another Secret Service Agent in the face again."

"Oh, I wouldn’t say ‘every’ Secret Service Agent, Margaret. Just the ones that work in the White House," Leo informs her.

"Oh, well, so that would be what, the only ones that I only ever see everyday? What ‘was’ I worrying about! It was bad enough when Coop caught us earlier tonight in your car, now they have film of us too!" Margaret shrieks.

"Hey, I wonder if they would make me a copy?" Leo muses as he tries to avoid the slap that he’s sure is coming his way, after he makes this statement. He knows that Ron has already erased the tape, but he can’t resist teasing Margaret about it.

"LEO!" Margaret screams as she lets him have it on the arm again. Leo was unsuccessful at getting out of her reach.  "You wouldn’t dare."

"Nah, I was just messing with you." Leo laughs as he’s rubbing his arm. "Besides, they probably wouldn’t do it anyway."

"Leo, what are we going to do?"

"Baby, calm down." Leo tells her. "They keep bigger secrets than this on a daily basis."

"I’m not worrying about them telling people, Leo. But, I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to be in the same room with them again."

"It’ll be fine, stop worrying. They’ve caught the President and Abbey doing a lot worse."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"How do you know? Did a supposed closed mouth Secret Service agent tell you?" Margaret’s paranoid thinking comes shining through.

"No. Remember, I told you earlier tonight. Your President’s the biggest gossip in the White House?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, now let’s go to ’our’ room, so we can get ready for the hot tub. You are going in with me, aren’t you?"

"Our room?" She sighs contently.

"Yeah, our room," Leo says, as he guides her into the elevator that has finally shown up.

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Yes, by the way"

"Yes what?" He asks her.

"Yes, I’m getting in the hot tub with you." She reaches over and takes a hold of his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. Then she leans over and places a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Okay," Leo says with a smile, as the elevator doors close.

When they get to Leo’s room, Leo heads directly to the bathroom and to take some of his prescription Aleve suspension. Margaret goes to the bedroom and unpacks her bag. She hangs up her clothes and puts her under garments in Leo’s dresser. She likes the thought their items intermingling together. Leo comes back into the bedroom and he’s already in his swim trunks.

"Did you find enough room for your stuff?" Leo gingerly crosses the room towards Margaret, trying his best not to limp.

"Yes, I did." She reaches out and gently pulls him near her. "Leo, stop trying to cover it up, it’s only making it worse."

"Okay."

"Hey, I like your knees, sailor."

"Hey," Leo growls. "I’ll have you know that I was a Captain in the Air Force and I flew jets."

"Okay, so that would explain that Air Force blanket, with Captain Leo Thomas McGarry embroidered on it, in your office.  But, I still say you have cute knees," Margaret coos to him in his ear.

"Margaret?"

"Yeah."

"Can we go now?" Leo really does want to experience the relief of the hot tub and its jets.

"Just a sec, I need to put on my swimsuit."

"You don’t have to if you don’t want to," Leo grins back at her.

"Leo, it’s a public hot tub, so I think I’ll wear my suit." Margaret hurries up and puts on her swimsuit and grabs a hotel robe from Leo’s closet. "Okay, I’m ready."

They head off to the top floor private spa area, that’s located on the same level as Leo’s room. Leo has a key to the area. It’s one of the perks to being a full time resident of the hotel. They enter the spa and Leo heads over to the timer switch and turns on the jets in the hot tub. He walks back over to the tub and gingerly sits down. Margaret joins him in the hot tub and sits across from him. She watches him with concern. She’s really worried that he might have really hurt himself when he fell earlier tonight in his office. She’s glad to know that Abbey’s going to be examining Leo tomorrow. Abbey won’t pull any punches or put up with his evasiveness.

When Leo first gets in the hot tub, he’s fidgety and uncomfortable, constantly shifting positions, looking for a more comfortable one. After a few minutes, his pain starts to dissipate and he’s finally able relax a little. He doesn’t question whether the relief is from the Aleve, the hot tub or a combination of them both. He’s just content to be able to settle down and enjoy Margaret’s company.

Margaret notices the change in Leo’s behavior and gives him a smile. She’s very happy just to sit here and take pleasure in this peaceful moment. It’s been a long day for them both and they still have a lot to talk about tonight, but for right now, they’re just soaking and taken a breather.

"Margaret, what ya thinking about?" Leo asks, as he motions for her to move over by his side.

"Oh, I was just thinking how incredibly lucky I am." She slides over to his side and leans against him.

"Lucky huh?"

"Oh yeah," She proudly announces.

"Okay."

"Honey, what are you thinking about?" Margaret asks the love of her life.

"The same thing you are."  Leo puts an arm around her and pulls her closer into his side. 

"Okay."

They sit side by side, without talking, like this for a few minutes until Leo breaks the silence.

"Margaret, I know that we’ve known each other for a long time, I mean you’ve worked for me for, what, over twelve years now? But, there’s so much that we really don’t know about each other and I just wanted to let you know that I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you, loving you and taking care of you."

"Oh Leo, I feel the same way too," She agrees, as she raises her head off his shoulder and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

"We have a lot of things to figure out and I know some people are going to think we’re rushing things, but I don’t care. I need to be with you." Leo justifies, with a serious tone. "We need to decide when we’re telling the staff and I need to talk to Mallory."

At the mention of Mallory’s name, Margaret stiffens a little. She’s nervous that Mallory will be upset with their relationship. Mallory and her have always gotten along really well, but for some reason Margaret’s worried about what Leo’s daughter will have to say about them.

Leo feels the change in Margaret’s body. "Baby, what’s wrong?"

"Nothing."

"I know you better than that, what going on?"

"I’m... worried that Mallory won’t be receptive to us."

"Baby, Mallory’s always loved you, why would you think she won’t be glad that we’re together?"

"I don’t know, I guess maybe I’m being silly, but I don’t want to come between you and her. I sometimes get the impression that she still hopes that you and Jenny will get back together."

"Well, she can hope that all she’s wants, but that’s not going to happen," Leo dismisses in a firm, but loving voice. "I love you and soon, you’re going to be Mrs. McGarry, Okay?"

"Okay."

They sit back in the tub and hold hands. Margaret feels Leo’s ring as she is running her thumb across his knuckles. "Leo, Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah."

"I’ve umm... I just wanted to know why you still wear... your ring?" Margaret stutters, as she dips her head as she asks him.

Leo lets out a sigh and reaches over and lifts her chin towards him with his fingertips. "Baby, I’ve worn this ring for several different reasons over the years. There are far too many reasons to go into tonight, but I will tell you why I’ve worn it since the divorce." Leo pauses as he collects his thoughts. "At first I did wear it in hopes that Jenny and I would get back together. She was all I knew and I missed having someone to come home to at night. It was that hope that kept me going those first few months after she left." Leo becomes silent and lowers his head. He knows that the next part is going to trudge up some bad memories, but he has to tell her.

Margaret reaches out to Leo and lifts his chin.  She gently strokes her fingertips on his cheek. "Leo, it’s okay to tell me or if you want you can stop. Either way, I know you love me."

Leo nods his head. "On the night of the shooting, I realized that it was really over. This woman who I had been married to for over thirty years, who’s the mother of my child, and who had stayed with me during my worst, didn’t even call to see if I was alive or okay." A single tear makes its way down his face. "When I got back to the White House, there you were, by my side, supporting me through it all. During the next few weeks I started to develop feelings for you and then the day that divorce papers came, I realized that I loved you. But, I decided that I was no good for you and would probably end up hurting you like I had Jenny. I didn’t feel like I deserved happiness, so I continued to wear the ring to remind me that I couldn’t hurt you the way I did Jenny."

"Oh, Leo," she whispers. "Why would you feel that you didn’t deserve any happiness?"

"I’ve made so many mistakes in my life that..."

"Honey, everyone makes mistakes. You deserve happiness just as much as the next person."

"I realize that now Margaret, it’s just that I’m still a little afraid that I’m going to hurt you the same way I did Jenny."

"Leo, I’m not the same person as Jenny. We aren’t the same couple as you two were. It takes two people to make a marriage and two people to cause a divorce. You need to stop taking the total blame for this."

"I’ll try. I will take this ring off, soon. I just have a couple of things to work out and I think I already know what I’m going to do with it, I just need some time." Leo looks into Margaret eyes in search for understanding and he finds it.

"Leo, I know you will. I love you." Margaret gently caresses his face and leans in and kisses his cheek. "Besides, if you take it off before we tell the staff, it might arise suspicion."

"Margaret, you always know what to say, don’t you."

"I have to," she smirks. "I work for that irascible White House Chief of Staff, Leo McGarry."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I hear he’s quiet a hand full." Leo smirks as he pulls Margaret into to his arms and holds her tight.

"You have no idea." Margaret laughs.

They have been soaking for a while now in the hot tub. Leo’s feeling much better now and he thinks that it probably about time they headed back to their room. But, Leo needs to tell Margaret something and he has spent these past few minutes trying to come up with a way to tell her about an event in his past. He needs to tell her about that night in Saint Louis, the night of the final debate. Only two people, well actually a few more after the hearings, know what happened that night in that hotel. He’s kept it as secret from her for years, but he knows that that can’t have secrets between them anymore. Leo shifts his position in the tub so that he is facing her.

"Margaret, I umm... need to tell you something." The tone of his voice turns very serious.

 

"Okay." Margaret has a bad feeling in her stomach, whatever he’s about to say must be bad by the way he is acting.

"Remember during the hearings when Gibson was questioning me?"

"Yeah."

"He had something on me and was going to embarrass me on national TV." Leo pauses and then continues. "On the day of the last debate, in Saint Louis, I met with a couple of CEO’s and Gibson..."

Margaret interrupts Leo. "Leo, I know. You were drinking that day."

Leo’s surprised that she knows. "Who told you?"

"Honey, no one had to tell me. I could tell," Margaret explains.

"Why didn’t you say something?"

"You were beating yourself up pretty bad already, so you didn’t need any help from me."

"You know Jenny doesn’t even know about that night. The only people who knew were Josh and Jed. I went to Jed that night and tried to quit, but he wouldn’t let me..."

"Leo, it doesn’t matter now."

"Margaret, I’m an alcoholic and I always will be."

"I know that. I love you and always will. Leo, there’s something that I need to tell you."

"Okay."

"You know these past few months I have been really worried about you. You weren’t acting yourself and you were irritable and I ...."

It’s Leo turn to interrupt Margaret. "Baby, are you trying to tell me that you’ve been searching my office and hotel room for signs of drinking?" Leo smirks.

"How did you know?"

"Well, I’ve caught you a couple of times at the office."

"You never said anything."

"Yeah, well, if figured that even if I did you would still worry and look for signs. Besides it was fun trying to catch you and hear some of the lames excuses you’d come up with." Leo smirks through his grin.

"My excuses were never lame." She teases back. "I always had well thought out ones before I would search your office."

"Oh yeah, I especially loved the time I caught you sitting in my chair, apparently having just searched my desk drawers, and you told me you where checking to make sure that my chair didn’t squeak."

"Well, the Chief of Staff can’t have a squeaky chair."

"I suppose not."

"How did you know I was checking your hotel room?"

"Every time you did, I could smell your perfume when I got home at night."

"And you never said anything."

"I liked smelling your perfume in my room, it made me feel closer to you and it..." Leo stops talking. "Baby, let’s get out of this tub. I want to tell you something else," Leo holds his hand up to her face. "It’s nothing bad, it’s just something I don’t want to talk about here. Besides, if we stay much longer we’re going to look like prunes."

"Okay."

On the way back to Leo’s room, Margaret notices that Leo is moving a lot better and seems to be in a lot less pain. Someday she’s going to get him to tell her what had happened in the war, but not tonight or probably any time soon.

Once they get back they change into comfortable clothes and head for the couch. Leo has on his Air Force sweats and Michigan sweatshirt and Margaret is also wearing sweats and a campaign sweatshirt.

"Leo, we still haven’t opened our presents yet."

"Do you want to now?" Leo asks.

"Yeah"

"Okay, I’ll get them." Leo offers.

"Leo, let me get them. You..."

Leo stops her. "Margaret, I’m not an invalid yet, and besides it’s best if I keep moving after soaking in the hot tub."

"Okay, sorry. I wasn’t trying to imply..."

"Margaret, I know." Leo says, as he goes to the bedroom. Leo walks into his bedroom to get the presents and notices an addition on the bed. He walks over, picks it up and inspects it. It’s an old fashion bear with rimed glasses and it’s wearing a black tux He heads back out to the living area. "Margaret, What’s this thing doing on our bed?" He asks, as he holds it out to her.

"Leo, don’t call Thomas a thing," She reaches out and takes the bear from Leo. "You’ll hurt his feelings. Sorry, Thomas, the mean old man didn’t mean to call you a thing."

"Thomas?" Leo huffs out his response as he sits down.

"Yeah, Thomas. I um... always sleep with him," She says as she gives the bear a squeeze.

"Always sleep with him?" Leo asks as the grin on his face grows.

"Yeah. You should be thankful that his name isn’t Ronald." Margaret smirks.

Its takes a few seconds for Leo’s mind to come up with the person to match who she hinted at. "You mean, as in, Ron Butterfield?"

"Yeah."

"You and Ron, I never knew... when..."

Margaret interrupts him, "You are far too easy." She says while shaking her head. "I was only teasing you. There has never been everyone, besides you, that I want to name anything after. In all my dreams it has always been you."

"What kind of dreams?" Leo smirks.

"Not the kind you think! Leo, you are terrible. I mean when I thought about me having.... umm... kids."

"You mean, you’ve thought about us having kids?" Leo asks as his face lights up from the thought of Margaret carrying his child.

"Well, yeah... I’ve day dreamed about it...  Leo it's.... just... I mean." Margaret really doesn’t know what to say. She’s worried that Leo is going to be upset about this. He may not want any more kids.

"Baby, don’t worry about it. We can talk about this later, But, I do want you to know that the thought of you carrying my child, makes me extremely happy."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, we can discuss this later." Margaret leans over and gives Leo I quick kiss on the cheek and then hands him Thomas. "Here get acquainted while I go get the presents that you forgot."

Leo gives Margaret a smirky grin, but he takes the bear. He looks it over and then tells it, "You’re going to have to start sharing the bed with me, fella."

Margaret comes back into the room and places the presents on the coffee table in front of them and then sits down next to Leo.

"Remember Baby, I still owe you a present." Leo reminds her.

"What do you mean you still owe me a present?" Margaret inquires.

"Baby, I still owe you a ring." Leo informs her with his widespread trademark grin on his face.

"Yes you do and you’re not getting out of it either."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Let’s go shopping tomorrow for it."

"Leo, do you think you’re going to feel up to doing that and looking at the condo."

"Margaret, I’m fine. I just bruised it. You getting as bad as Abbey when it comes to my hip and leg."

"You said earlier that she’s coming by tomorrow an examining you before we go look at the condo, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I’ll feel better after she gets a chance to check it out." Margaret happily announces.

"Well, I’m glad one of us will." He groans. He’s not looking forward to be probed by Abbey, plus the last time she examined his hip, it hurt worse afterwards. "She doesn’t even come close to the pleasant bedside manner that you have." Leo smirks.

"I would hope not!" Margaret advises.

"Hey lets get these presents out of the way and then head off to bed. I want to spend the rest of this Christmas Day, holding you in my arms."

"Okay, I like the way you think." Margaret reaches out and picks up one of the presents for Leo and hands it to him. "Here open this one first."

Leo takes the present and unwraps it. "Oh Margaret, did you make this?" Leo asks as he pulls the winter muffler out of the box. "This matches my camel overcoat perfectly."

"Yes, I knitted it." She proudly admits.

"I love it, Baby. Hey, weren’t you wearing this last night I came to your apartment."

"Yeah, I was trying to feel close to you," she shyly discloses.

"Yeah?"

"A huh, I was..." She stops.

"Baby, you were what?"

"I was pretending that it was your arms around me," she timidly confesses as she lowers her head.

"Oh baby, that’s so adorable," Leo takes the muffler and puts it around his neck. The scarf smells like Margaret’s perfume, he takes a deep breath of that wonderful smell. "Every time I wear this, I will be reminded of that wonderful night and the start of our relationship."

Margaret raises her head and looks at him. "Leo, what a nice thing to say. Do you really like it?"

"Yes, Baby, I really like it."

"Here open your other present too."

Leo unwraps the small box to find a pair of onyx cufflinks. "Thank you Margaret, you remembered that I lost one of my onyx ones."

"Can’t have you wearing your favorite suit without your onyx cufflinks," she says as smile crosses her face.

Leo reaches and gets the present that he bought her. "Here, I hope you like it and tomorrow we will go get something to match it."

Margaret gives Leo a puzzled look as she takes the present and starts to unwrap it. It doesn’t surprise her to find that the box is from his favorite local jewelers. She opens it. "Oh Leo, it’s beautiful." Margaret stares at the beautiful cross hanging on the white gold box chain. She picks up the necklace.

"If you don’t like it we can exchange it for something else. Or if you want, we could always go to Harry Winston’s and get something for you there. We might even find a ring there, too."

"No Leo, I love it. Thank you. I don’t need something from Harry Winston’s, I’m very happy with this and I’m sure we can find a ring here in town." Margaret smiles at him as she hands it to him. "Here, will you help me put it on?"

Leo takes the necklace and drapes it around her neck and fastens it. He can’t resist tracing her collarbone with his fingertips. Then runs them up her chin and leans in and brushes a gentle kiss against her lips. "It looks great on you." Leo pauses, leans back a little and then somewhat tersely says, "Much nicer than that gold ‘Margaret’ necklace you sometimes wear."

"Leo?"

"What?" He scoffs.

"I thought you liked Bruno Gianelli."

"He’s a great strategist." He admits.

"Why do I hear a but at the end of that?" She quips.

"But, he wasn’t right for you."

"Leo, I only went out with him a few times. He always treated my very nice and took me to some very expensive restaurants."

"Was he one... of the ones... that you umm... used to distract yourself from me?" He shyly asks.

"Yes, Bruno and I slept together," she confesses.

"Margaret, you didn’t have to say it out loud!" Leo growls.

"Leo, talking about it or not doesn’t change the fact that it happened." Margaret collects her thoughts. She needs for Leo to know that Bruno wasn’t just a one-night stand. "I thought there for a while that he might be able to help me get over you, but, then he turned out to be like all the others in my life. He soon tired of me and moved on."

"Well, that’s his loss. Margaret, that will never happen to me. You have worked for me for years and I have never once gotten tired of seeing you or being around you. Now, you sometimes have tried to make it your life’s goal to drive me crazy." Leo has a huge grin on his face. "But, I love ever minute of it and wouldn’t have it any other way." Leo leans over and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "Ya know, I might be able to afford to take you to some expensive restaurants, too sometimes." Leo smirks.

"Leo you can be so sweet and then so silly sometimes."

"Yeah, well do me one favor though, could you please not wear that necklace anymore?"

"I’ll make you a deal, when you stop wearing your wedding ring, I’ll put away that necklace."

At first Margaret words hurt Leo, but then he realizes she has every right to have said that. She wasn’t trying to hurt him. She was just letting him know that the necklace was still important to her too. "It’s a deal, Baby."

"Do you want to shake on it or kiss to seal the deal?"

Leo holds out his hand. "Let’s shake on it."

Margaret is surprised by his actions, but holds her hand out to him. "Okay."

Leo quickly grabs her and pulls her over to him. He touches the side of her face with his fingertips and leans in towards her. His hand moves from her face to the back of her head and he gently pulls her to him. Their lips meet and they slowly start to kiss one another. The kiss intensifies after a few seconds and Margaret opens her lips and wills Leo to explore her mouth. After a few minutes of kissing, they pull apart. Margaret notices that there is pain showing in Leo’s face again.

"You should get into bed, I think you'll be much more comfortable there." Margaret continues, Leo reluctantly agrees allowing Margaret to help him up off the couch. His hip and leg have stiffened up a little since they have been sitting on the couch for a while.

They walk into the bedroom and Margaret goes to grab something she brought from home to help with the soreness and pain that he is experiencing.  "Leo, what do you usually sleep in, when I’m not here.  I mean do you sleep in pajamas or just your boxers or a t-shirt."

"Well, when I’m on the road around the staff I sleep in pajamas but usually here I just sleep in boxers and a t-shirt, but with you I might relent and sleep just in my skin.  I want to feel my body next to yours like we have for the last couple of days."

"Well, I have no complaints about that but for tonight I want to put some Icy Hot on your leg and hip to keep it warm, so you should probably sleep with your boxers or pajama bottoms on to prevent the ointment from going all over the place.  Do you want for me to massage some it into the sore areas?"

"Yeah, I guess. I haven’t used that cream before, maybe it will help," he tells her. "I can sleep in my boxers tonight.

"Okay, You will have to let me know where you need it the most.  I also made an appointment for the hotel masseur to come here for 11:00 a.m. to loosen the area up for your day.  Maybe he can show me how to help you out between massages.  I think you should have regular ones to help with the tightness that I suspect you experience in your body from your injuries. It might help prevent some of the times when your leg or hip bothers you." Margaret rattles off her suggestions without even taken a breath, as she takes control of his well-being.

"Could you send me a memo on this?" Leo smirks.

Margaret continues on, having not been discouraged by Leo’s smartass comment. "If it’s a matter of time, we can arrange for someone to come to the office and do it there or at the apartment at night.  I can arrange your schedule for the day that the massage therapist comes. We can arrange a time and have a portable table kept in your office closet and lock the doors for the hour-long appointment.  I think it would help with your stress level as well."

Leo has been listening to her rattle off her list of things that she wants him to start doing. He can’t help but grin at how she has taken over control of his life in such a short time. He loves it. "Okay, whatever you say, Baby."

"Okay then, go strip down and lie on the bed while I get the jar," she says as she heads to the closet to get the Icy Hot. 

"I like the clothes off part," Leo smirks as he quickly strips down and lies on the towel that Margaret has placed on the bed. 

Margaret walks back over to the bed and sits down beside Leo. "It’ll feel cold at first then it will get warm and stay that way for a while.  This company has some patches that you can wear under your clothes that will keep the area warm for a while, too.  If warmth helps with the pain then maybe they can use this to help between the hot tub sessions."  She explains.

"Patches?" Leo asks.

"Yeah, they stick to you like band-aids." Margaret takes a small amount of the cream from the jar and before she puts any on she asks him, "Leo you need to show me exactly where it hurts the most.  Not just from tonight’s pain but in the usual areas, as well."

Leo’s not sure how much he wants her to know about his pain, but she wants to help him and they are together now.  She will be watching him a lot closer now.  He is still warm from the hot tub and so he feels not so bad but he knows the pain will return as soon as the warmth wears off.  Maybe it is time to explore some alternatives for his pain relief.  He hates to take medications and he doesn’t have a lot of time to spend on this but now that she knows, maybe she can coordinate things for him better. He reluctantly points out the areas, she can see the beginning of a bruise on his hip but he also points out his lower leg and the top of his thigh and the length of his incision on his leg, as well as his buttocks on one side near the sciatic nerve. 

"Okay, are you ready?"

"Yeah."

She starts to rub the cream into his lower leg and hip. She is being very gentle and not pressing too hard.  The cream does feel cool at first but now he can feel it getting warm, she continues to increase the pressure and now it is really hurting where she presses.  She wants to help, but the area is really sore tonight.  He is hesitant to make her stop, when he seems to relax into her strokes she increases the pressure and a larger area as she gets more cream and continues to massage him.  He has been quiet for a little while and she thinks he may have fallen asleep but when she looks at him and sees that his eyes are closed but tears are running down his face. 

She leans over and asks him, "Leo, what’s wrong?"

 He says that,  "It’s just... it’s... so sore."  He knows it needs be done, to loosen up the tight areas but it still hurts.  He’s trying to hide his pain from her.

"Honey, you can’t try and hide the pain anymore." She stops massaging his hip. "Okay I will stop for now but I want to give you a back massage to help you relax but I will stay away from your hip for tonight.   We will have the masseur show me some things to work on you between professional massages.  Okay?"

"Okay, I’m sorry, I just... it’s been a long time since anyone has cared or tried to help me with this. I’m just so use to trying to ignore..." Leo stops. He has so many bad memories about how he received his injury in Vietnam, and then years later the hip replacement surgery that was a direct result from his leg injury and how Jenny couldn’t deal with any of it at times. "I really don’t want to talk about this tonight. I will tell you sometime, but just not tonight," Leo pleads with her.

"Honey, it’s okay." Margaret tells him as she wipes off the excess cream off her hands. "Let me help you get your boxers back on and then I can massage your back some. Okay?"

"Okay," he softly replies as he lets her help with his boxers. He turns over to his stomach and Margaret begins to massage his back, gentle but firm strokes to help relax him.  He needs this and she is now glad that she has booked his massage for the morning. She continues the back rub for a few minutes then leaves him resting, and she goes to grab her pajamas and discovers that they aren’t there.  She forgot them.  She’ll have to find something of Leo’s to wear, maybe a t-shirt and her panties or maybe a dress shirt.  It will cover her up a bit more.  She grabs one of his shirts and heads for the bathroom.

Margaret goes in to the bathroom to wash her hands, brush her teeth and remove her makeup. She’s putting her stuff on the vanity when she notices a bottle of medicine sitting there. She picks it up and reads the label. It is prescription strength liquid Aleve. Margaret just stares at the bottle for a while. She takes the bottle and goes back out to the bedroom. 

"Leo, what’s this?" She holds the bottle out for him to see.

"Hmmm" He says, as he is just about half asleep.

"This." Margaret has moved closer to the bed and is holding the bottle directly in front of his face now.

"It’s a bottle of medicine," He smirks as he rolls on to his good side.

"I can see that," she quips.

"I always said that you were observant."

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

She walks over to the bed and sits down next to Leo. "Care to explain?" She asks him in a worried voice.

"Not really, but it appears I have no choice." Leo looks at Margaret who is agreeing with him. "I’m sure you’re already guessed that it’s for pain relief."

Margaret bobs her head.

"From time to time, I have trouble with my hip and leg. Hence, the pain medicine." Leo relents.

"Leo, I’ve never seen you take this at work."

"You know that I really don’t like taking medicine," Leo pauses, "I only use this when it gets bad and I can’t sleep because of the pain."

"Leo," Margaret reaches over and gently traces his jaw line with her fingertips. "Just how much pain are you in all the time?"

Leo stares deep into her eyes and finds so much love and concern that it almost makes him shudder. There are some things that he’d rather that nobody knows about him. But, Margaret is going to be his wife and she has the right to know. "A moderate amount," He finally acknowledges. "It just depends on some factors."

"And they are?"

"The weather, lack of exercise, certain activities, lack of sleep, old age," he rattles off the list quickly.

"Well, the weather and your age are things we can’t control, but the other reasons can be worked on. What kind of activities are you referring to?"

"Well, prolonged standing is one thing that causes me trouble."

"Okay."

"Stairs can be... a challenge, sometimes."

Margaret nods her head and adds another item to her mental list.

"Running is something I shouldn’t be doing." Leo thinks of Zoey's kidnapping and slightly frowns.

"I’m sure that falling on concrete wasn’t something that helped, either." Margaret was also thinking about his run through the West Wing.

Leo nods his head. They both had been reflecting about the same incident. "No, it didn’t. Or falling in my office tonight."

"Okay, so what other activities?"

"I think I’ve covered them all."

"Leo, why do I have the feeling that you're holding back from me?"

"Margaret why are you so suspicious?"

"Cause, when it comes to you, it’s the only way to be."

"Yeah. Well, I can’t have you knowing all my secrets."

"Leo." She pronounces every letter very slowly.

"Okay. Strenuous activities can sometimes cause me some trouble."

"And by trouble, you mean pain?"

Leo nods his head. "Yeah."

"Strenuous activities would include making love?"

"Yeah, sometimes." Leo shyly nods his head again and then looks up at her. "But, if you think I’m giving that up, well, you’re crazy."

"Don’t worry Honey, I’m not going to suggest that," Margaret pauses, she’s never really talked about intimate details that much before with a partner and is a little inhibited about the whole thing. "But, I think we could do things... differently sometimes."

"Differently?"

"Yeah."

"How so?"

"Um... as in... different positions."

Leo stares at Margaret with a very puzzled look.

"Honey, what I mean is, you don’t always have to be the man."

"I don’t, well I sorta think that the boat has already sailed on ..."

"Leo, I meant you don’t always have to be on top!" She says, in an exasperated voice.

"Oh, sorry," Leo shyly says.

"Have you taken some tonight already?" Margaret asks with concern because if he hasn’t she was going to make sure he does.

"Yeah, first thing, as soon as we got back here tonight," he replies quietly.

"Okay, great.  At least I won’t have to force it down your throat.  You should take it regularly for the next several days until the pain from the fall settles down.  It says that on the bottle.  I see you have some refills for it, too.  We can pick up a couple of them and leave one at the office and have a fresh bottle here or at the apartment. This one is running low anyway," Margaret says as she takes charge of his life.

Leo grins back at her. He loves it when she takes control. . He wouldn’t have it any other way.  She has always been the one who was always there. Always ready to sacrifice for him, always willing to take care of him, always standing by his side, no matter what. How did he ever get so lucky? He loves her so much and can’t wait to start taking care of her now. It takes a few seconds, but it finally dawns on him. She is wearing, one of his shirts and nothing else, that he can tell.  His grin gets wider and he runs a finger up her leg to check for sure to see what is under his shirt. He can’t help but comment. "That shirt looks better on you than it does on me."

She catches his finger and looks him in the eye before he gets off topic.  "Leo, we’re going to have to work on changing some aspects of your lifestyle."

"Why did I know this was coming? Am I going to get a memo on this?" He smirks.

"Count on it."

"Yeah?"

"You bet your ass."

"Okay," Leo grins back at her. "Now can we discuss what you’re wearing?"

"Maybe," she smiles back. "But let me finish up in the bathroom first."

"Okay."

Margaret comes back out of the bathroom and slips into bed, next to Leo. They Leo lay there on the bed for a while just listening to each other’s heart beats. They both are thinking about the events that have occurred these past couple of days and some things that they still need discuss.  Leo needs to confess his fears about whether he can keep her satisfied. Margaret wants to discuss their wedding. The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes she would like a Rose Garden Wedding. Leo is the first to break the silence.

"Margaret, remember earlier on the way to the hotel when I told you there was something I needed to talk to you about?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it was sorta along the lines of our earlier conversation about positions. Um... you know in my office earlier tonight when you... um... did that thing to me. Well, that’s the first time anyone’s ever done that to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, that’s why it didn’t take me very long to um... you know, and it was just so... um... very enjoyable." He turns slightly red.

"Oh."

"Yeah, and when I returned the favor, that was... another first for me. So I probably owe you an apology for not being very good, I really wasn’t sure what..." He shyly confesses.

"Leo, you were wonderful. I can’t believe you never did that to someone before, you were very talented."

"Margaret, I never realized what making love meant until we made love. I’ve only ever had sex before, but now it so much more... I don’t know how to put it, but I’ve never felt like this during it or afterwards. You know I was married for over thirty years, but we did things the same way and well... um... Jenny never really seemed to enjoy it that much, so I always thought that it was because... I was... inadequate."

"Oh, Leo, you are anything but inadequate..."

Leo puts a finger to her lips to stop her. He needs her to know his doubts. "I’ve only been with two other people and I’m... afraid I won’t be able to keep you... satisfied..."

It's Margaret’s turn to interrupt him. "Leo, I have never been with anyone that has taken me to the heights that you have. You have thrilled me beyond belief. You are the most caring, sharing and giving lover that I have ever been with." Margaret decides to lighten the subject. "Not to mention the fact that you have the... that you are... um... that... um..."

"Have what?"

"Nothing, Baby."

"What, tell me?" Leo grabs her and pulls her further onto the bed and starts to tickle her.

"Leo," she can barely talk, "stop it."

"Tell me," Leo says while dodging her flailing elbows.

"Okay, but stop first."

"Okay, I stopped. Now tell me."

"Your um... equipment is a sorta..."

"Sorta what?" Leo is starting to be leery about what she is going to say. His self-esteem, when it comes to this, is pretty low after all those years of being with Jenny and her being so uninterested.

"On the larger side."

"Really?"

"Oh, ...well... yeah. You really didn’t know, did you?"

Leo shakes his head. "It’s not like we stand around and ya know ... compare." Leo says as he points to the subject matter. "I always just thought I was average."

"Oh, Leo, no. You are far above the average." Margaret smirks.

"Well, I guess I’ll just have to take your word for it." Leo smirks as he pulls her to him and kisses her sweetly on the nose.

"Yeah, no need for any second opinions. I definitely have no complaints," Margaret smirks back to him.

"Are you sure? I mean, you might be wrong. I could always find someone else and she could validate it."

"Leo," Margaret laughs as she pushes him over on the bed and proceeds to tickle him.

"Hey, stop it..." Leo’s overcome with laughter. Margaret is relentlessly tickling him on his side and he can’t stand it.

"Are you willing to agree that we don’t need anyone’s else’s opinion."

"Yeah," Leo chuckles, "please stop." He pleads.

"Okay." Then it dawns on her, Leo’s sore hip and leg. "Oh, Honey, are you okay? I totally forgot about your..."

 "Baby, it’s fine." Leo interrupts her. "I just can’t stand to be tickled on my sides."

"Okay, that’s good to know." She laughs.

"Baby," Leo pulls her on top of him. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." This is the Leo she always imagined, the fun loving playful one. She always thought that he was hidden away deep inside him. "Leo, I do have something that I would like to talk about, though."

"What sweetie?" Leo reaches over to Margaret face. He takes a strand of hair and places it behind her ear and then runs his fingertips down her jaw line.

"I’ve been thinking about our wedding date," Margaret pauses. "I think Valentine’s Day is going to come awfully quick and ..."

Leo stops her with an unexpected kiss on the lips. He leans back from her and gazes into her eyes. "Baby, let’s just wait until April and have the Rose Garden wedding that you’ve dreamed of."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I can wait, besides we’re going to be living together. You’ll be with me every night in my arms and that’s all that’s really important, so I can wait until the spring. Besides it’s always so pretty during cherry blossom season."

"Leo, I realize that a Rose Garden wedding is a fairy tale dream. You know that there has only been a hand full of them and they have all been family members of the President that have gotten married."

"Margaret let me talk to the President and see what he thinks. I bet he would love it. I know the Secret Service would. Besides, we don’t have to make a big deal about it. I kinda thought it would just be a few staff members and family only, no press."

"Oh Leo, that’s what I want too. A small intimate wedding." Margaret pauses. "Leo, are you sure you want to wait?"

"Yeah," Leo answers.

"Oh, Leo, thank you. I love you."

"I love you too, Baby."

"Leo, this is so nice just lying here with you."

"Ya know, it’s hard to believe that just two short nights ago, I laid here in bed and thought about you." Leo pauses as he reflects about that night. "There was a song on the radio and it made me... well it was about someone spending Christmas without someone and it made me think of you and me."

"Christmas Without You," Margaret scoots closer to Leo and wraps a leg over him. "I heard that same song two nights ago too and I felt the same way, too."

"That night I had the most intense dream about you," Leo confesses.

"You’re kidding."

"No."

"I had a dream about you that night, too. It was very passionate. I woke up during the most intense experience I ever had from a dream."

"I had something similar occur. I woke up and had to change my clothes, I can’t remember the last time that happened. My God, I felt like a kid in high school again." Leo can’t believe that he doesn’t feel awkward talking to her about this. Jenny and he never discussed anything about their sex life, not like this. There is nothing that is too uncomfortable for Margaret and him to discuss.

 

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Leo gathers Margaret up in his arms. "Baby, I think we should probably try and get some sleep now. Abbey’s going to be coming over early tomorrow and I want to be able to have some time with you in the morning before she gets here."

"Time for what?" Margaret knows perfectly well what Leo is referring to.

"Time to get to know you better, I want to explore and learn ever inch of you."

"Okay, I think I can make some time for that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

Leo smiles at their banter. He’s so happy that he has the love of his life in his arms. She fits so perfectly against him and makes him want to be a better man. He sighs and closes his eyes and waits for peaceful sleep to over take him. And for the first time in years, sleep comes quickly.

Margaret smiles at their banter. She’s so happy to be in Leo’s arms. She has dreamed of this moment for years and still can’t believe it’s happening. She is happier than she ever thought possible. She sighs and close her eyes and drifts off to sleep.

The End.

 

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Thanks for reading my story and a big thanks to the people who took the time and provided feedback!

‘Christmas Without You’ is the first part in my "Through the Years" series.


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